Last modified: Thursday, April 6, 2006
First EPA head Ruckelshaus to speak at IU Bloomington
William Ruckelshaus
EDITORS: A media availability with Ruckelshaus has been scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Hoosier Room of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. Please call Jenny Cohen at 812-855-6802 to indicate interest.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- William Ruckelshaus, the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency, will speak on April 19 at Indiana University Bloomington in honor of the 35th anniversary of EPA.
Ruckelshaus will speak about "Environmental Protection in the Face of Population and Economic Growth." The lecture will begin at 1 p.m. at the Wells-Metz Theatre, 275 N. Jordan Ave. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to introduce Ruckelshaus. The lecture is being sponsored by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Cummins Inc. The event is free and open to the public.
"We look forward to hearing Bill Ruckelshaus' reflections on just what the public servant of the future should be prepared to do as a leader in public and environmental affairs," said Astrid Merget, dean of SPEA. "His views of the future of environmental policy and the role of EPA for the next several decades will be invaluably insightful for our current generation of students."
Ruckelshaus' lecture will be followed by a symposium at 2:15 p.m. at the Wells-Metz Theatre to discuss "Critical Issues in Environmental Policy." The symposium will include Ruckelshaus as well as:
- Dr. Bernard Goldstein, professor and former dean of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, a former officer with the U.S. Public Health Service and assistant administrator for research and development at EPA.
- Marcus Peacock, current deputy administrator at EPA.
- Paul Portney, dean of the Eller College of Management at Arizona University and former president of Resources for the Future.
The symposium will be moderated by A. James Barnes, a former dean of SPEA and former deputy administrator at EPA. He presently serves as a professor at SPEA.
About the speakers:
William Ruckelshaus
William Ruckelshaus served as the first head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, starting in 1970. He served in that position for three years before becoming acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1973 and then deputy attorney general that same year. He eventually resigned as part of the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre" of the Nixon administration.
Ruckelshaus returned to Washington in 1983 to head the EPA again, this time under President Ronald Reagan, before retiring in 1985. Ruckelshaus was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy by President George W. Bush. The commission was created as part of the Oceans Act of 2000.
He is a native of Indianapolis, Ind. He was the deputy state attorney general for Indiana, served as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1968 against former Sen. Birch Bayh, father of Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). Ruckelhaus presently serves on the board for Cummins Inc., a company based in Columbus, Ind. He also is a board member of Weyershaeuser Co. and Nordstrom.
Dr. Bernard Goldstein
Dr. Bernard Goldstein is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. He was dean of that school from 2000 to 2005 after serving as the founding dean of the School of Public Health at Rutgers University. He also served as an EPA assistant administrator for research and development from 1983 to 1985. Goldstein continues to be involved with environmental health and public policy, serving as vice president of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment; as a consultant to the World Health Organization and to the United Nations Environmental Program; and as a member of the executive committee of the Association of Schools of Public Health.
Marcus C. Peacock
Marcus C. Peacock has served as the deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency since August 2005. He arrived at EPA after working as the associate director for natural resources, energy and science at the Office of Management and Budget. Peacock also was involved in environmental issues on Capitol Hill within the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He served as a line supervisor and an industrial engineer for the printing company R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Los Angeles, Calif., before entering public service.
Paul Portney
Paul Portney is the dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Before arriving there, he served as the president of Resources for the Future from 1995 to 2005. He joined RFF in 1972, headed two of its research divisions, and served as vice president of the organization beginning in 1989. RFF is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that conducts independent research on environmental, energy and natural resource issues. It was founded in 1952 with its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, located on eight campuses, is committed to teaching, research and service in areas such as public and nonprofit management, public policy, environmental science, criminal justice, arts administration and health administration. The school maintains continuing relationships with a large number of public agencies at all levels of government; public and private hospitals and health organizations; and nonprofit organizations and corporations in the private sector. SPEA has earned national distinction for innovative educational programs that combine administrative, social, economic, financial and environmental disciplines.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Ind., Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. Cummins reported net income of $550 million on sales of $9.9 billion in 2005. Press releases can be found on the Web at https://www.cummins.com.
