Environmental Expert to Speak on Campus

David Orr, environmental expert, to speak at EMU
David Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin (Ohio) College.

David Orr, a renowned authority on sustainability issues, will speak twice at EMU on Friday, Nov. 9.

He will speak at 10 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium as part of EMU’s year-long emphasis on creation care, including a series of chapel services on the theme of sustainability.

“The changing climate of U.S. politics,” is the title of Orr’s 4 p.m. address in the Suter Science Center Auditorium.

Ecological Pioneer

Dr. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin (Ohio) College. He is best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in higher education and recent work in ecological design.

Orr raised funds for and spearheaded the effort to design and build a $7.2 million Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College.

The building was described as “the most remarkable” of a new generation of college buildings by the New York Times, and one of 30 “milestone buildings” of the 20th century by the U.S. Department of Energy.

EMU representatives visited the building in September to learn more as they plan their own new science facility.

Orr is the author of five 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.

Another book, “Earth in Mind” (1994/2004) is praised by people as diverse as biologist E. O. Wilson and writer, poet and farmer Wendell Berry.

Admission to both presentations is free and open to the public.