Honor the Earth Executive Director Winona LaDuke
American environmentalist, economist and writer Winona LaDuke will deliver the President’s 2019 Sustainability Lecture on Oct. 2 at 2:30 p.m. in the Doty Recital Hall. LaDuke will speak about “Economics for the Seventh Generation.”
The lecture is part of Campus Sustainability Month events and free and open to the public.
LaDuke is executive director of Honor the Earth, anonprofit organization founded to raise awareness and financial support for indigenous environmental justice. For decades, LaDuke has been an internationally renowned activist working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy and food systems. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for vice president of the United States as the Green Party nominee. LaDuke was also instrumental in the Dakota Access Pipeline protest movement, which began in 2016 in North Dakota.
Geneseo’s President’s Commission on Sustainability chose LaDuke for her longtime efforts in activism, which at times, have been behind the scenes on important topics, said Margaret Reitz, co-chair of the commission and associate director of residence life for educational initiatives. There has been growing interest on campus among students for activism, said Reitz. LaDuke’s leadership, often not in the public eye, is a valuable perspective, she said.
The lecture is one of many events scheduled for Campus Sustainability Month. On Sept. 25, there was a climate rally. Geneseo’s Peace Action Coalition is also hosting viewing sessions of the climate debates, and workshops focusing on what actions can be taken on campus to impact climate. On Oct. 9, Sherri "Sam" Mason, a chemistry professor at Penn State Behrend whose research has focused on plastic microbead / microfiber pollution in the Great Lakes and has won a Heinz Award, will lead a "Plastics Walk" from noon to 1:30 p.m. from the bear statue on Main Street through campus to the Genesee River to connect on-campus actions to ecological consequences. She will also give a talk, "The Perils of Plastic," from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Doty Tower Room about her research and how to take effective actions.
• View more on the month's activities online.
•Explore Geneseo’s sustainability efforts through the College’s interactive map.