David W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental
Studies and Politics. He is also a James Marsh Professor at large at the
University of Vermont. Born in Des Moines, Iowa and raised in New
Wilmington, Pennsylvania, he holds a B.A. from Westminster College (1965), a M.A. from Michigan State University (1966), and a Ph.D. in International
Relations from the University of Pennsylvania (1973). He and his wife have
two sons and three grandchildren. He is the author of five books: Design on
the Edge: The Making of a High Performance Building (MIT Press, 2006); The
Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment (Island Press, 2004);
The Nature of Design (Oxford, 2002); Earth in Mind (Island, 1994/2004);
Ecological Literacy (SUNY, 1992) and co-editor of The Global Predicament
(North Carolina, 1979) and The Campus and Environmental Responsibility
(Jossey-Bass, 1992). He has published 150 articles in scientific journals,
social science publications, and popular magazines. He is best known for his
pioneering work on environmental literacy in higher education and his recent work in ecological design. He raised funds for and spearheaded the effort to design and build a $7.2 million Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College, a building described by the New York Times as “the most remarkable” of a new generation of college buildings and by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of thirty “milestone buildings” of the 20th century.
The site for the Halifax local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.
