The University of Maine at Presque Isle will welcome Mark Anderson of the University of Maine for a talk on sustainability on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the GIS Lab (Folsom 201). The talk is being hosted by UMPI’s Environmental Studies and Sustainability Program and the UMPI EPSCoR grant project.
Anderson, who coordinated the University of Maine’s Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program for nearly 20 years and who serves as a senior instructor with UMaine’s School of Economics, will deliver the talk Toward a Theory of Sustainability: An Exercise in Prospective Stakeholder Engagement. He will discuss the work he and his colleagues have been doing as part of the Sustainability Solutions Initiative to establish an operational theory of sustainability that ‘satisfies the needs of today without diminishing the ability of future generations’ to do the same.
Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative is focused on transforming Maine’s capacity for addressing scientific challenges – specifically, “producing knowledge and linking it to actions that meet human needs while preserving the planet’s life-support systems” – in ways that directly benefit Maine and other regions. This program of research is expected to help Maine increase economic activity and technological innovation in ways that sustain the State’s remarkable “quality of place”. The initiative is a partnership between the University of Maine, the University of Southern Maine and other institutions of higher education.
Anderson received his Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, and his Master’s degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maine. Most of his career at the University of Maine has been in various administrative positions, including Associate Director for Administration of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, and Interim Chief Financial Officer. He has been a full time member of the faculty since 2003. Anderson was born in Caribou and looks forward to returning for a visit to Aroostook County.
The public is invited to attend Anderson’s talk. For more information, please contact Dr. Jason Johnston at 768-9652.