Charles Wilkinson, a distinguished CU-Boulder professor of law who is recognized as a champion of the American West through his decades of writing and legal work, will be the first featured speaker in a CU-Boulder lecture series hosted at The Academy beginning Wednesday, Sept. 8.
This fall, the series will highlight faculty from CU-Boulder聮s Center of the American West, including its co-founders Wilkinson and Patricia Limerick, and the Natural Resources Law Center. All talks will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel at The Academy, located at 970 Aurora Ave. in Boulder.
Each of the monthly lectures is free and open to the public.
Kicking-off this year聮s Chancellor's Community Lecture Series, Wilkinson will read from his newest book, "Fire on the Plateau: Conflict and Endurance in the American Southwest." The book is an examination of the Colorado Plateau through his own personal journeys.
Wilkinson's presentation will include a book signing.
Wilkinson also is known for his book "Crossing the Next Meridian: Land, Water and the Future of the West."
The program is co-sponsored by The Academy and the CU-Boulder Office of Community Relations on Wednesday evenings once a month from September through December. The fall series continues the community program launched in
September of 1998 that brings CU faculty into the community for talks ranging from arts and humanities to business and the sciences.
Other lectures in the series will include:
* "The Great American Wilderness Debate" Oct. 6. Incoming director of CU-Boulder聮s Natural Resources Law Center, Gary Bryner, will explore the challenges Americans face in preserving national parks, wild lands and biodiversity for future generations. Bryner previously served as the director of the Public Policy Program at Brigham Young University. He also served as the Natural Resources Law Center's El Paso Energy Corp. Law Fellow in 1997, during which he studied issues of mineral development in federally protected areas.
* "Worlds of Possibility: Exploring Ethnicity in Environmental Thought" Nov. 10. History professor and co-founder of the Center of the American West, Patricia Limerick, will explore how a recognition of ethnic diversity can enrich and redeem environmental movements.
* "American Indian Tribal Sovereignty and Environmental Justice" Dec. 8. Sarah Krakoff, former director of the Indian Law Clinic, will explore whether tribal exercises of sovereignty concerning environmental matters are inherently questions of environmental justice for American Indians on Dec. 8. Krakoff, an assistant professor of law, is participating in the Natural Resources Law Center's environmental justice program.
Parking is available along the streets that border The Academy: Lincoln, Cascade, Aurora and 10th. For more information, contact the CU-Boulder Office of Community Relations at 303-492-8384.