Bill McKibben has been appointed to the position of Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College. The new appointment will deepen and solidify a relationship that has already been of great value to the College community.
This appointment also recognizes Bill McKibben’s tremendous professional contributions to public discourse on and the growing awareness of climate change and global environmental issues. Few writers have had so great an impact on public perception of a critical issue in contemporary society. His book The End of Nature (1989), which had first appeared in serialized form in The New Yorker, is widely acknowledged as a path breaking overview of climate change. His subsequent books, including Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (2007), and his recent bestseller Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet (2010), have offered a continually updated series of reflections on pressing environmental issues. In addition, his creation of the grassroots “Step it Up” campaign and his hugely influential organization “350.org” has broadened his worldwide impact even further. Middlebury students and faculty have had the opportunity to play important roles in both of these efforts.
Bill has already been a generous resource for the College community: giving talks, advising students, working with faculty colleagues, and, this spring, he will teach a course. His oversight of the Fellowships in Environmental Journalism program, based at Middlebury, has brought other well-known and aspiring environmental writers to campus.
I am delighted that Middlebury College will continue to benefit from Bill’s engagement with our students, his collaboration with our faculty, and the added visibility a public intellectual of his stature brings to our program in Environmental Studies and to the College. I know I speak for many in saying we look forward to working with Bill McKibben for many years to come.