Conference Introductions and Keynote Presentation by David W.Orr, Ph.D

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David W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics the Special

Assistant to the President of Oberlin College, and a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont.

Orr is the recipient of five honorary degrees and other awards including The Millennium Leadership Award

from Global Green, the Bioneers Award and the National Wildlife Federation Leadership Award. He has

lectured at hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Europe. Orr has also served as

a Trustee to 10 foundations including the Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org) and the Aldo Leopold

Foundation (www.aldoleopold.org).

His career as a scholar, teacher, writer, speaker and entrepreneur spans fields as diverse as environment

and politics, environmental education, campus greening, green building, ecological design and climate

change. He is the author of six books and co-editor of three others. Ecological Literacy (SUNY, 1992), described

as a “true classic” by Garrett Hardin, is widely read and used in hundreds of colleges and universities.

A second book, Earth in Mind (1994/2004) is praised by people as diverse as biologist E. O. Wilson

and writer, poet, and farmer, Wendell Berry.

In 1989 Orr organized the first ever conference on the effects of impending climate change on the banking

industry. Co-sponsored by then Governor Bill Clinton, the conference featured prominent bankers throughout

the mid-South and leading climate scientists including Stephen Schneider and George Woodwell.

Recent projects include a two-year $2.2 million collaborative project to define a “100 Days Climate Action

Plan” for the Obama administration (www.climateactionproject.com).