Hartzog award program at Clemson to honor world-renowned conservation leaders

Published: October 24, 2012

CLEMSON — Reed Noss will be among several people recognized at the George B. Hartzog Jr. luncheon and lecture at Clemson University.

The luncheon and awards ceremony is at noon Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the grand ballroom at the Madren Center. 

Noss, Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida and president of the Florida Institute for Conservation Science, will give a lecture at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Self Auditorium at the Strom Thurmond Institute. It is open to the public.

The previously scheduled Wednesday lecture is canceled because another speaker, Julian Agyeman, was unable to get to Clemson because of Hurricane Sandy.

Agyeman will be awarded the William C. Everhart Award for sustained achievement in interpretation that have illuminated, created insights to and fostered an appreciation of our cultural and historic heritage. Agyeman is a professor in and chairman of the department of urban and environmental policy planning at Tufts University. He is an environmental social scientist with degrees in botany, geography, conservation policy and environmental education. He will speak at 2 p.m. Tuesday on “Space, Place and Parks: Towards a Just Sustainability.”

Noss will receive the Benton H. Box Award for recognition as a “teacher who by precept and example inspires in students the quest for knowledge” and encourages curriculum innovation to inculcate an “environmental ethic” as the rule of conduct. He holds degrees in ecology and wildlife biology and serves on numerous boards and advisory panels. He will speak at 11 a.m. Wednesday on “Trying to Think Big in Conservation.”

Other awards will be presented Tuesday:

• Dan Wenk will receive the Walter T. Cox Award for sustained achievement in public service, providing leadership in administration of public lands and for forming policies that affect natural and cultural resources. Wenk is the superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, managing more than 2.2 million acres of park land and 800 staff. Previously, he served four years as deputy director of operations for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., and nine months as acting director of the National Park Service during the transition of the Obama Administration.
• David Vela will receive the Robert G. Stanton Award for sustained and innovative achievement in promoting racial and ethnic diversity in the management of North America’s natural, historic and cultural heritage. Vela has been Southeast regional director of the National Park Service for four years. He worked his way through the ranks starting as the iconic National Park Service park ranger and serving as superintendent of numerous parks. Director Jonathan B. Jarvis recently named Vela the new associate director for Workforce Management for the park service.

The annual George B. Hartzog, Jr. awards program recognizes exemplary leadership in addressing environmental issues and concerns in honor of the seventh director of the National Park Service.

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