Highlights
Dr. Steven Amstrup
Winner of the Indianapolis Prize, Polar Bears International
Dr. Steven Amstrup (September 30, 2012)
The winner of the Indianapolis Prize, Dr. Steven Amstrup, presented a lecture at DePauw University on September 30, 2012 in Watson Forum at the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media. Dr. Amstrup has been called "the most influential person working on polar bear conservation today", and his work, along with that of his research team, was responsible for this species being listed as threatened in 2008, making it the first species listed as a direct result of global climate change. The Environmental Fellows had an opportunity to have a private Question and Answer with Dr. Amstrup immediately following the presentation. Environmental Fellow Sam Leist, who worked with Dr. Amstrup's organization, Polar Bears International, moderated the Question and Answer session. It was a great opportunity for the Fellows to converse with someone of his stature, whose work has made such a difference. More can be learned about Dr. Amstrup at these links:
http://www.multivu.com/mnr/56166-steven-amstrup-polar-bear-champion-awarded-2012-indianapolis-prize
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/14/idUS87030+14-Jun-2012+PRN20120614
Dr. Eric Johnson (September 21, 2012)
Eric Johnson (DPU ’94) grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and as a youngster was an avid herpetologist. He came to DePauw thinking he was going to major in Economics and go on to a career in business, but several environmental and ecological Winter term experiences, including one in which he studied sea turtles in Mexico, convinced him that he was more suited for a career as a field biologist. He went on to get a Ph.D. in Marine Science, and after working for several years at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, is now a faculty member at the University of North Florida. He has done research on the Nassau grouper, the spiny lobster, blue crabs, and currently is beginning studies on two invasive species, the blue catfish and the lionfish. His talk at DePauw was entitled ““Science supporting sustainability: A stronger role for ecology in coastal fishery management.”
Lawrence Buell (March 5-6, 2012)The Environmental Fellows Program hosted Lawrence Buell March 5-6, 2012. Professor Buell has been a central figure in
American literary studies for the last three decades. In works such as The Environmental Imagination (1995), Writing for an Endangered World (2003), and The Future of Environmental Criticism (2005), he has emerged as the formative influence in the field of ecocriticism, a way of reading literature through the lens of environmental crisis.
On March 5, in Peeler Auditorium, Professor Buell spoke about “Literature’s Environmental Turn: Its Emergence, Pathways, and Promise for Renewing the Humanities in Academia and Beyond.” His talk reached beyond literary studies toward the shared concerns of environmental science and the humanities.
Professor Buell led a faculty workshop March 6 on the issue of teaching to student bias. While focused primarily on confronting student preconceptions of environmental crises, the workshop had relevance to teaching other ideologically charged issues.
Anne Glausser (November 29, 2011)
Our first speaker after the establishment of the Environmental Fellows Program was Anne Glausser, Health and Science Reporter/Producer for ideastream, a combined public radio and television station in central Ohio. Ms. Glausser studied ecology and environmental science at UC Santa Cruz, and , and science writing at MIT. She spoke about her career in science communication, in particular her reporting on the environment, and also shared personal stories and talked about things she’s learned along the way.