David Orr, Trailblazing Expert on Environmental Literary and Design, to Speak at 2008 Nicholas School Recognition Ceremony

2008 Ceremony Information here >

March 31, 2008

Contact: Tim Lucas, (919) 613-8084 or tdlucas@duke.edu

DURHAM, N.C. – Author, educator and international expert on environmental literacy and design David W. Orr will speak to graduates of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at the school’s annual Recognition Ceremony, at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 10.

Orr’s address to this year’s Master of Environmental Management, Master of Forestry and doctoral degree candidates and their families will begin at about 9:15 a.m. and will last about 20 minutes.

The ceremony, which is not open to the public, will be held on the East Anderson Street Lawn of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, on Duke’s main campus.
Known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy and sustainable design on university campuses, Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, and a James Marsh Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont.
He spearheaded efforts to design the award-winning Adam Joseph Lewis Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin, which The New York Times called “the most remarkable” of a new generation of buildings on U.S. campuses, and which the U.S. Department of Energy cited as one of 30 “milestone buildings” of the 20th century.

A prolific researcher, Orr is the author of five books: Design on the Edge: The Making of a High Performance Building (MIT Press, 2006); The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics and the Environment (Island Press, 2004); The Nature of Design (Oxford Press, 2002); Earth in Mind (Island Press, 1994 and 2004); and Ecological Literacy (State University of New York Press, 1992.) He also co-edited The Global Predicament (University of North Carolina Press, 1979) and The Campus and Environmental Responsibility (Jossey-Bass, 1992); is a contributing editor of Conservation Biology; and has published more than 150 articles in scientific journals, social science publications and popular magazines.

Orr serves on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and is an advisor and consultant to the Trust for Public Land, the National Park Advisory Committee and other organizations. He has lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide.
“Our goal as educators is to present a sense of hopefulness to students, (along with) the competence to act on that hope,” he says. “That’s different from wishful thinking.”

The Nicholas School is one of the world’s premiere graduate professional schools for the interdisciplinary study of the environment and the development of pathways for a sustainable future.
In case of rain, the Recognition Ceremony will be held in Reynolds Theater at the Bryan Student Center. 

Masters and doctoral degree candidates will officially receive their degrees at Duke University’s graduation ceremonies on May 11.

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