EPA Head Carol Browner Kicks Off Weissman Center's Fall Series

Carol Browner, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will deliver a lecture titled "EPA Policy: Defining the Public's Interest" in Chapin Auditorium September 13.

Carol Browner, the longest-serving administrator in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will deliver a keynote address titled "EPA Policy: Defining the Public's Interest" in Chapin Auditorium on September 13, at 7:30 pm. Sponsored by the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership, the talk kicks off the center's fall series, "Silent Killers? Environmental Contaminants and Health."

Each week, it seems, the public is bombarded with new studies and frightening allegations concerning the health effects of environmental contaminants. What do we really know about the impact of pollutants on wildlife and human health? Which policies are most appropriate to address the actual or potential threats? The Weissman Center series will address these and other important questions of public concern throughout the upcoming semester. "This series on environmental health provides multiple opportunities for a critical examination of some of the most important issues of our time," says Eva Paus, codirector of the Weissman Center. "We are delighted that Carol Browner will initiate this semester-long inquiry."

Appointed by President Clinton in January 1993, Carol M. Browner heads the U.S. EPA and knows environmental regulation from both the Washington and the state perspective. From 1991 to 1993, Browner served as secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation. She earned praise there for dealing effectively with difficult issues involving wetland protection, hazardous waste disposal, and Everglades cleanup. From 1986 to 1988, she worked in Washington for then-Senator Lawton Chiles, the late governor of Florida. She also served as legislative director for then-Senator Al Gore. A native of south Florida, Browner graduated from the University of Florida in 1977 and then earned a degree from its law school.

Other events in the environmental series include a play based on the life of renowned biologist Rachel Carson (October 5), a panel discussion on environmental justice (October 21), and a panel on endocrine disruptors (November 17). For more information on these events, call x3071 or visit www.mtholyoke.edu/program/wcl on the Web.