ORR, David W. 1944-

PERSONAL: Born 1944, in Des Moines, IA; married; children: two sons. Education: Westminster College, B.A., 1965; Michigan State University, M.A., 1966; University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D., 1973.

ADDRESSES: Home—Oberlin, OH. Offıce— Environmental Studies Program, Adam Joseph Lewis Center, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER: Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, professor of environmental studies, chair of environmental studies department, and director of Environmental Studies Center. Distinguished scholar-in-residence, Ball State University, 1995, and Westminster College, 1996. Member of board of directors, Rocky Mountain Institute, Second Nature, Center for Ecoliteracy, and Center for Respect of life and Environment. Advisor and consultant, Trust for Public Land and National Parks Advisory Committee. Member of board of trustees, Educational Foundation of America and Compton Foundation.

AWARDS, HONORS: Lyndhurst Prize, Lyndhurst Foundation, 1992; National Conservation Achievement Award, National Wildlife Federation, 1993; Benton Box Award, Clemson University, 1995; Bioneers Award, 2002.

WRITINGS:

(Editor with Marvin S. Soroos) The Global Predicament: Ecological Perspectives on World Order, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1979.

Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to aPostmodern World, State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 1992.

Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and theHuman Prospect, Island Press (Washington, DC), 1994.

The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and HumanIntention, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

The Last Refuge: The Corruption of Patriotism andEnvironment in the Age of Terror, Island Press (Washington, DC), 2004.

Contributing editor, Conservation Biology. Contributor of more than 120 articles to scholarly and popular periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: David W. Orr is an award-winning environmental scientist who, through his writings and lectures, hopes to change the way students and educators approach responsible management of biological diversity. Orr's books propose a revolution in the way higher education prepares people to interact with the environment. He advocates a broad-based curriculum reform that would create a worldwide citizenry actively engaged in environmental conservation and repair. According to Ed Ayres in World Watch, Orr ranks among those who feel "that the real threat to American and world security is not terrorism, but environmental and economic decline." Whole Earth Review contributor J. Baldwin praised Orr for "nudging society towards the elusive goal of sustainability."

Orr has spoken on environmental issues at the White House and at international conferences. He is perhaps best known, however, for creating an Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College that serves as a model of how institutions of higher learning can physically play a role in conservation and resource management. His book Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World proposes ways in which education can evolve to answer the problems posed by environmental degradation. The author suggests that emphasis be placed on sustainability, not only in the narrow parameters of ecology-based programs, but in wider curricula, from political science and economics to liberal arts. Orr expands on these ideas in his book Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. In the Journal of Environmental Education, Charles E. Roth wrote of Earth in Mind: "This book is truly a must-read for all people interested in education, environmental or otherwise." To quote Gary A. Klee in The Ecologist, Earth in Mind "is a manual of ideas and possibilities drawn from years of experience in trying to move educational establishments in a different direction."

The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror collects a series of essays Orr has written on the influence that international politics has exerted on environmental decay. Orr maintains that the threat from terrorism is far out-weighed by the looming global catastrophe brought on by over-use of fossil fuels, overpopulation, and agricultural mismanagement. "It's not hard to imagine how these essays might energize a readership committed to Orr's brand of politics," wrote a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In Environment, Steve Lachman observed that the book "has some compelling ideas: Academicians and scientists can no longer feign neutrality; instead, they must advocate on behalf of the Earth."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Ecologist, November-December, 1995, Gary A. Klee, review of Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment and the Human Prospect, p. 246.

Environment, September, 2004, Steve Lachman, review of The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror, p. 41.

Journal of Environmental Education, winter, 2002, Charles E. Roth, review of Earth in Mind, p. 43.

Publishers Weekly, March 1, 2004, review of The LastRefuge, p. 61.

Whole Earth Review, winter, 1992, J. Baldwin, review of Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World, p. 20; spring, 1995, J. Baldwin, review of Earth in Mind, p. 48.

World Watch, May-June, 2004, Ed Ayres, "Citizen, Heal Thyself," p. 30.*