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Connecticut College to commemorate the centennial of Rachel Carson´s birth on Sept. 21
September 14, 2007
For immediate release - September 14, 2007
Contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu
Connecticut College to commemorate the centennial of Rachel Carson's birth on Sept. 21
Event to include a panel discussion moderated by Carson biographer Linda Lear and an illustrated presentation of the college's Lear/ Carson Collection
NEW LONDON, Conn. - Connecticut College is celebrating the centennial of the birth of Rachel Carson, the late biologist, ecologist and author, with a lecture, a panel discussion moderated by Carson biographer Linda Lear and an illustrated presentation of the Lear/Carson collection at Connecticut College on Sept. 21.
"Rachel Carson: An Ecologist for the 21st Century," is free and open to the public, and will begin at 2 p.m. in the Charles Chu Asian Art Reading Room of the college's Shain Library.
The event will celebrate the life and legacy of Carson, who many believe is responsible for launching the global environmental movement. Carson's 1962 book, "Silent Spring," about pesticides, pollution and the environment, stimulated widespread concern about the overuse of pesticides and provoked a change in the United States' national pesticide policies.
In 1997, Lear, an environmental historian and a Connecticut College alumna and trustee, published "Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature," a complete biography of the famous environmentalist. Today, Connecticut College houses the Lear/ Carson Collection, a vast compilation of papers, documents, interviews and photographs Lear collected while conducting research on Carson.
Maril Hazlett, research director for the Climate Energy Project of the Land Institute in Salina, Kan., will begin the centennial celebration event with a lecture, "Rachel Carson: Controversy and Common Ground." Hazlett, who earned a doctorate in environmental history from the University of Kansas, is currently completing her manuscript, "Rachel Carson: In the Beginning," which traces Carson's understanding of evolution and how that helped shape her lifelong quest to balance science and spirit.
The lecture will be followed by the panel discussion, which, in addition to moderator Linda Lear, also will include Connecticut College professors Jane Dawson, the Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Associate Professor of Government; Julie Rivkin, professor of English; Mab Segrest, the Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender and Women's Studies; and Scott Warren, the Jean C. Tempel '65 Professor Emeritus of Botany. Roland Clement, wildlife biologist and former vice president of the National Audubon Society, and Connecticut College senior Eliza Greenman will also join the panel.
The program will conclude with an illustrated presentation of the Lear/ Carson Collection by curator Laurie Deredita, the Ruth Rusch Sheppe '40 Director of Special Collections and Archives at Connecticut College.
Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 43 states and 45 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.
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For media inquiries contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu