History of the EECP
1980-1981
An interdisciplinary forum between the Dept. of Philosophy and Religion and the Institute of Ecology evolves under the direction of Frederick Ferré and Eugene Odum. This becomes the Philosophy and Ecology Support Group led by Ferré that meets at the Georgia Center. Because the Support Group is so large (68 members) and diverse (26 different departments), a more manageable Planning/Teaching Team is selected (9 members from 6 different departments). The teaching portion of the team will develop a proposal for a master's program integrating philosophical with scientific approaches to the environment; the planning portion of the team will conduct programs and seminars in Environmental Ethics.
The Philosophy and Ecology Teaching Team submits a proposal to support development
of a practical master's in Philosophy and Ecology to the Fund for the Improvement
of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The proposal is rejected.
The Philosophy and Ecology Planning Team holds a panel discussion on environmental
ethics at the Law School. The discussion includes such topics as ecology and scarcity,
and shallow vs. deep ecology.
The Philosophy and Ecology Teaching Team meets at the Georgia Center with the Dept. of Philosophy and Religion and the Institute of Ecology to discuss a proposal for a practical master's degree in Philosophy and Ecology. The Institute of Ecology votes in favor of the proposal; the Dept. of Philosophy and Religion votes against the proposal, and the proposal is rejected.
1981-1982
Eugene Hargrove, environmental ethicist and editor of the journal Environmental Ethics, comes to the University of Georgia from the University of New Mexico. His job is threefold: 1) to continue as managing editor of the journal; 2) to develop environmental ethics programs at the Georgia Center; and 3) to teach environmental ethics in the Dept. of Philosophy and Religion. In addition to planning a Philosophy and Ecology Summer Workshop, Hargrove develops a non-credit Environmental Ethics Program at the Georgia Center.
Frederick Ferré learns of the University's Certificate Programs in Gerontology and in Global Policy Studies. Shortly thereafter, Ferré and other interested faculty members from the Philosophy and Ecology Teaching Team begin a year's work to write a proposal for an Environmental Ethics Certificate Program.
1982-1983
A conference on environmental ethics, Business and the Environment: Toward an Objective Discussion of the Business Point of View in Environmental Ethics and Environmental
Affairs, is held at the Georgia Center.
Frederick Ferré goes on a leave of absence, and John Granrose assumes responsibility
forshepherding the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program proposal through to the Graduate
Council.
The proposal for a Certificate Program in Environmental Ethics is approved by the
Graduate Council on July 7, 1983. The Graduate School provides support for the program,
overseen by the Graduate School dean or the dean's representative.
An EECP Executive Committee is formed; John Granrose is the Chair and non-sciencerepresentative, Vernon Meentemeyer is the science representative, and Branch Howe
is the representative of the Dean of the Graduate School. This establishes the precedent
for an Executive Committee composed of a science, non-science, and Graduate School
representative.
The core course requirements for the Graduate Certificate are PHY 618 (Environmental Ethics), PHY 651 (Technology and Values), and BIO 350 (Ecology). Because BIO 350 is an undergraduate course, it is taken under independent study that requires additional work for graduate credit. The Certificate also requires an approved research paper in Environmental Ethics, as well as field work, an internship, or other practical experience. Each graduate student is assigned one EECP Faculty advisor.
1983-1984
The EECP officially begins Fall Quarter 1983 as the first Environmental Ethics CertificateProgram in the United States. The 1982-83 Executive Committee continues for the academic
year.
The first EECP graduate student, Margaret Merrill, is accepted into the Program.
1984-1985
Frederick Ferré becomes Chair of the EECP, and Bruce Ferguson replaces Vernon Meentemeyer as the science representative.
The first official EECP conference, Environmental Ethics: New Directions, is held at the Georgia Center.
Luncheon discussions on environmental ethics begin in Snelling Hall, with 15 to 20 persons attending regularly.
A contest is held for the official EECP emblem. Allen Rowell's drawing of sea oats
(see home page) is selected.
The first Graduate Certificate is awarded to Susan Bratton on February 28, 1985. Bratton
goes on to publish two books on environmental ethics: Six Billion and More: Human Population Regulation & Christian Ethics (1992), and Christianity, Wilderness, and Wildlife: The Original Desert Solitaire (1993).
The second Graduate Certificate is awarded to Rev. Edgard Ebel.
The prefix ETH (Environmental Ethics) is approved for environmental ethics courses.
1985-1986
Margaret Merrill receives the third Graduate Certificate in January 1986.
1986-1987
Snelling Hall stops its policy of room reservation for faculty groups, and EECP luncheondiscussions temporarily discontinue.
Frederick Ferré asks Eugene Hargrove to become Program Coordinator. Hargrove accepts; this establishes the precedent for EECP coordinators.
1987-1988
The first EECP field trip is a bus tour led by Charles Aguar, who points out examples of good and bad development in Athens. A dinner discussion follows at Snelling Hall.
Kathryn Hatcher restarts the luncheon discussion group until the sessions are superseded
by evening dinner-discussion programs in 1989-90.
The newsletter, EECPerspectives, begins in June 1988, with Frederick Ferré as editor. The newsletter appears occasionally.
1988-1989
An EECP student finds that the Certificate cannot be completed in one year because
ETH/PHY 651 (Technology and Values) is only taught biennially. Therefore, PHY/ART
611 (Aesthetics) and PHY 605 (Ethical Theory) are added to the list of core courses
to alternate with ETH/PHY 651.
The EECP continues to grow, which leads to a reorganization of the administration.
Many of the responsibilities of the Chair are divided among five coordinators: Membership
(Albert Ike), Curriculum (William Power), Graduate (Frank Golley), Publicity (Kathryn
Hatcher), and Program (Eugene Hargrove). The coordinators begin their work for the
1989-90 academic year.
There is some discussion to form a Center for Environmental Ethics, but the idea is rejected because this would require additional administrative support within the EECP.
The EECP Faculty approves a two-person Advisory Reading Committee for each student
in the Certificate Program. One of the two committee members must be on the EECP Faculty.
The two-person committee oversees the required paper for the Certificate and replaces
the one-person faculty advisor.
An ad hoc committee is appointed to develop a Master's in Environmental Ethics.
1989-1990
The EECP Faculty approves a Master's in Environmental Ethics and forwards the proposal
to the Graduate Council.
Eugene Hargrove leaves the University of Georgia to assume the chair of the Department
of Philosophy at the University of North Texas (Denton). This move has two consequences:
(a) the journal, Environmental Ethics, moves with Hargrove to Texas; and (b) the absence of a full-time environmental ethicist
at the University causes the proposal for a Master's degree in Environmental Ethics
to be dropped.
Even though a new committee is appointed to revise the proposal for a master's degree,
the proposal does not advance because of concern that the EECP does not have sufficient
faculty to maintain the Program.
An Environmental Ethics Faculty study group is formed to discuss books on environmental
ethics beginning with Andrew Brennan's Thinking About Nature and Eugene Hargrove's Foundations of Environmental Ethics. The study group is so well-attended that this spurs the formation of a 1-credit-hour
graduate seminar, Readings in Environmental Ethics (ETH 600), under the direction
of Frank Golley. (By 1992, the course is approved for every winter quarter.) Before
the course's alteration in 1994 (see 1993-94 history), the books discussed included
William McKibben's The End of Nature (1992), Holmes Rolston's Environmental Ethics (1993), and Max Oelschlager's The Idea of Wilderness (1994).
The EECP Faculty vote to have conferences on a regular basis. An ad hoc committee is appointed to develop a conference. Subsequently, Peter Hartel and Frederick Ferré obtain grants from the University's State-of-the-Art Conference Initiative, the Fondazione Lanza (Padua, Italy), and the National Science Foundation's Ethics and Values Studies Program for an international conference to be held in April 1992.
1990-1991
Branch Howe, who has served as the Dean's Representative on the EECP ExecutiveCommittee since 1984, retires from the University; Theresa Perenich is appointed to
this position by the Graduate Dean and serves for five years.
With the 1988 bus trip as a precedent, Philosopher's Walks begin as part of the EECP evening seminar series. Two walks are offered, one fall quarter and one spring quarter.
The Ad Hoc Committee on By-Law Revision, headed by Bruce Ferguson, submits revised
By- Laws. The two principal changes are to elect the Chair from within the Executive
Committee (rather than directly from the faculty) and to expand the Executive Committee
from one to two science and two non-science representatives each. The changes are
approved, and an election is held. The two additional representatives are Kathryn
Hatcher (science) and Walter Cook (non-science).
BIO 350 (Ecology) is dropped as a core course because it is not on the graduate level.
This leads to the formation of a new core course, ETH/ZOO 620 (Ecological Concepts).
An ad hoc committee, under the direction of Peter Dress, is appointed to consider
anUndergraduate Certificate Program as well as a minor in Environmental Ethics (through
the School of Environmental Design). These undergraduate programs would closely parallel
the EECP Graduate Program. Walter Cook assumes responsibility for writing much of
the Undergraduate Certificate Program. It is approved by the EECP Faculty, but the
University's funds are cut and the proposal does not advance.
Although a search committee is formed for a full-time environmental ethicist position
and the position is advertised, efforts to obtain adequate funding fail and the position
must be withdrawn.
Frederick Ferré is appointed Research Professor of Philosophy; this requires his resignation as EECP Chair and ends a seven-year term.
1991-1992
Frank Golley is elected Chair for the 1991-92 academic year. Golley also takes over
as editor of EECPerspectives and renames the newsletter Environmental Ethics.
The EECP and the Fondazione Lanza co-sponsor The Second International Conference on Ethics and Environmental Policies. More than 100 people attend. The proceedings of the conference are gathered into a book, Ethics and Environmental Policies: Theory Meets Practice (Frederick Ferré and Peter Hartel, co-editors) which is published in Summer 1994 by The University of Georgia Press.
1992-1993
Albert Ike is elected Chair, the first of two 1-year terms.
1993-1994
Peter Hartel rewrites the proposal for an Undergraduate Certificate Program under
thesponsorship of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the School
ofEnvironmental Design. The Undergraduate Certificate Program proposal is supported
by Dean William Flatt (College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), Dean Kerry
Dawson (School of Environmental Design), former Dean Darrel Morrison (School of Environmental
Design), and Dean Wyatt Anderson (Franklin College of Arts and Sciences). The proposal
is subsequently approved.
The ETH prefix (Environmental Ethics) and its accompanying courses move from the College of Arts and Sciences to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
An Ad Hoc Curriculum Committee is appointed to review the Certificate Program. Two
adopted changes in the Program are: (a) graduate students will be required to pass
an oral exam in environmental ethics as part of their Certificate; (b) EECP evening
seminars will qualify for the required ETH 600. A new course, ETH 400, will cover
the undergraduate Certificate Program students.
An EECP Endowment Fund is established through The University of Georgia Foundation.
A journal based on selected papers from EECP speakers, tentatively entitled Lectures inEnvironmental Ethics, is proposed and approved.
The EECP hires student assistant Wendy Higbee. Higbee, an EECP student and a journalism graduate student, edits the Environmental Ethics newsletter, manages the EECP membership, and publicizes EECP events.
1994-1995
Frank Golley is elected Chair for the 1994-95 year.
The new Undergraduate Certificate Program begins in September.
The third EECP conference, International Conference on Environmental Ethics and the Global Marketplace, is held April 27-29, 1995, at the Georgia Center. The conference focuses on the
apparent divergence of interest and opinions concerning environmental and economic
goals. The conference papers are gathered into a book, Environmental Ethics and the Global Marketplace (Dorinda Dallmeyer and Albert Ike, co-editors), which is published in 1998 by The
University of Georgia Press.
The Program newsletter reverts back to its original name, EECPerspectives.
The first EECP Handbook is published.
1995-1996
The Undergraduate Program awards its first Certificate to Dana Roach, a political science major.
The new journal, renamed Ethics and the Environment, is published Spring 1996. Victoria Davion becomes the editor.
The Program launches its Web site.
A new core course, Environmental Dispute Resolution (ETH/JUR 786), is offered as an
option to one of the elective core courses for graduate students.
The EECP By-Laws are revised. The major change is one of renaming: the non-sciencerepresentative is now called a humanities representative, and the science representative
is now called a natural science representative.
Al Ike is elected Chair, the first of three 1-year terms.
1996-1997
The positions of Membership Coordinator and Publicity Coordinator are eliminated and their duties transferred to the EECP student assistant, Wendy Higbee. Marsha Grizzle, a senior secretary in the School of Environmental Design, helps with other administrative duties.
1997-1998
At the invitation of Robert Hodson, director of the School of Marine Programs, the
EECP joins the school as an administrative unit.
The EECP office is established in Room 132 of the Marine Sciences building. This is
the first time the EECP has a "physical" home.
Paulo Figueiredo, a professor at the Universidade Metodista de Piraciccaba in Brazil,
comes to the University as EECP's first visiting scholar. Paulo returns to Brazil
in February 1998 to start a program similar to the EECP at his university.
Allison Bruce replaces Wendy Higbee as EECP student assistant.
Philosophy professor Scott Kleiner, Women's Studies Associate Director Heather Kleiner
(Scott's wife), and Gene Kleiner (Scott's brother) establish the Margaret Shippen
Kleiner Graduate Environmental Ethics Fund in memory of their mother. Mrs. Kleiner
was an avid naturalist, conservationist, horticulturalist, and gardener, and was honored
by the Garden Club of America for lifetime achievement.
Dorinda Dallmeyer and several co-investigators are awarded a 2-year National Science
Foundation (NSF) grant to develop the project "Values at Sea: Environmental Ethics
for Marine Ecosystems." The grant will sponsor a marine environmental ethics course,
an international conference on marine environmental ethics, a book of conference papers,
and a workshop for college-level instructors on incorporating marine environmental
ethics into course offerings. The grant also supports the EECP Seminar Series for
1998-99, which is themed "Marine Environmental Ethics." In conjunction with the NSF
grant, Peter Hartel is awarded a grant from the University of Georgia Vice President
for Academic Affairs to develop a State of the Art (SOTA) Conference on Marine Environmental
Ethics in June 1999.
Frank Golley is elected Chair for the 1998-99 year.
1998-1999
The EECP establishes a part-time position for a Program Assistant to manage the EECP office, assist students and faculty, and edit EECPerspectives. Lisa Vogel is hired for the position in July 1998 and replaces student assistant Allison Bruce, who completes her studies at the University.
Like the rest of the University system, the EECP converts to the semester system.
EECP faculty establish a number of new EECP courses: EETH 4000/6000 (Environmental
Ethics Seminar); EETH 4010/8010 (Undergraduate and Graduate Research); EETH 4020/6020
(Directed Readings in Environmental Ethics); EETH/ECOL 4200 (Ecological Concepts,
an undergraduate version of EETH/ECOL 6200); and a course in Marine Environmental
Ethics, which is tested in Spring Semester 1999.
In June 1999, the State of the Art Conference in Marine Environmental Ethics is held at UGA, funded in part by a State of the Art grant from the UGA Vice President
for Academic Affairs. Participants include environmental ethicists Bryan Norton and
Baird Callicott, as well as other well-known scholars, activists and scientists.
EECP graduate student Chelsea Snelgrove is the first recipient of the Kleiner Award,
which enables her to travel to the 1999 Mid-South Philosophy Conference, in Memphis,
Tennessee, to present a paper.
The EECP By-Laws are revised to remove two requirements that are no longer applicable:
that a faculty member be on the University of Georgia Graduate Faculty and that changes
to the Graduate Certificate requirements be approved by the University's Graduate
Council. Other revisions delete the positions of Graduate School liaison and Undergraduate
Program liaison from the Executive Committee and change the required approval for
by-laws amendment from two-thirds of all current members to two-thirds of members
present at a called meeting.
Kathryn Hatcher is elected Chair for the 1999-2000 year.
1999-2000
The course Ecological Concepts (EETH/ECOL 4200/6200) is renamed Ecological Values
and is modified to fulfill the ecology and environmental ethics requirements of the
Certificate, as well as the EECP paper.
The EECP Faculty unanimously vote to move to the proposed College of the Environment
should it come into existence.
In April 2000, the EECP and the Dean Rusk Center co-sponsor a conference, Governing the Global Ocean. The conference brings three eminent experts on the law of the sea and coastal zone
management to UGA for a roundtable discussion.
EECP graduate student Sandra Crismon is hired as Program Assistant in May 2000.
EECP graduate student Cecilia Herles is the second recipient of the Kleiner Award,
which allows her to present a paper at the International Interdisciplinary Conference
on the Ethics of Gender at the University of Leeds (UK) in June 2000.
The theme for the 1999-2000 Seminar Series is environmental ethics and the media.
Dorinda Dallmeyer is elected Chair for the 2000-2001 year.
2000-2001
The EECP is evaluated by Provost Karen Holbrook as part of the review of the School of Marine Programs. The EECP is highly praised. The only criticism is that the Program is severely underfunded. EECP faculty develop a proposed budget of $40,000; however, financial exigencies at the state level resulted in a freeze on expenditures for "new" programs. Provost Holbrook departs UGA.
In Spring 2001, the EECP receives funds from the Office of Academic Affairs to offer
a new course for EECP undergraduates, Introduction to Environmental Values and Policy
(EETH 3230). The course will be taught for the first time in Spring 2002 by EECP Faculty
member Clark Wolf. EETH 4200/6200 keeps the title Ecological Values, but now satisfies
only the ecology requirement for the Certificate.
The theme of the 2000-2001 Seminar Series is environmental justice.
2001-2005
Upon the approval of the creation of the College of Environment and Design, Dean Jack Crowley invites the EECP to come under the CED administrative umbrella. The EECP receives office space in the Founders Garden House, CED funds the degree program assistant position, and provides additional amounts of state funding for the work of the Program.
To mark Earth Week 2002, the EECP, Georgia Sea Grant, and WUGA-FM produce the 90-minute radio program "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water" broadcast live from the Chapel by Georgia Public Radio. The program features southern nature writers Bill Belleville, Janisse Ray, Jan DeBlieu, Christopher Camuto, James Kilgo, and Franklin Burroughs with original music composed and performed by Chuck Leavell and Randall Bramblett. The program is funded in part by a grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation. Following the graduation of Sandra Crismon, EECP undergraduate student Beth Adams provides temporary office assistance. In late 2002, CED funds are found to hire John Britt as the new degree program assistant who serves until 2005.
To mark Earth Week 2005, the EECP and WUGA-FM produce the hour-long radio program "Reading the River: The Chattooga in Words and Music," broadcast live from the Seney-Stovall Chapel by Georgia Public Radio. The program features southern nature writers John Lane, Ron Rash, Chris Camuto, and Thorpe Moeckel with traditional music provided by Art Rosenbaum.
2006-2013
Upon her retirement in January 2006 from full-time employment at the School of Law, Dorinda Dallmeyer is hired as a part-time degree program assistant. In addition to advising students, supervising students writing their certificate papers, and administering the program, she continues to teach Environmental Dispute Resolution (EETH 5870/7870, 2 credit hours) during Spring Semester and organizes the Environmental Ethics Seminar (EETH 4000/6000, 1 credit hour) both Fall and Spring Semesters.
2011
The EECP begins to collaborate with the Georgia Review in presenting the annual Earth Week Lecture.
2012
The Circle Gallery mounts the exhibition "Altamaha: The Environmental History of a Great American River," featuring the photography of James Holland. In addition to the EECP, the exhibit is co-sponsored by CED, UGA Public Service and Outreach, UGA Marine Extension, UGA Sea Grant, the Georgia Natural History Museum, and the University of Georgia Press.
2015
During Fall Semester, the EECP sponsors a seven-part lecture series "Set Off for Georgia. . . ." Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of John and William Bartram's Natural History Expedition in Colonial Georgia," at the UGA Special Collections Library. Co-sponsors include the Bartram Trail Conference, the UGA Special Collections Library, the Georgia Natural History Museum, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the UGA College of Environment and Design, and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts
2019
Dorinda Dallmeyer retired in December of 2018 after 13 years of leading the EECP. Upon Dorinda’s retirement, Alfie Vick was appointed as Director of the EECP. The EECP co-hosted nature-writer Barry Lopez with the Georgia Review for the Odum Earth Day Lecture Series. Environmental Ethics Seminar speakers included: Pratt Cassity, Rob Williams, Mary Freeman, Sarah Ross, Alfie Vick, Mandy Joye, and Haley Joyell Smith.
2020
The year began with anticipation for expanded events, but COVID-19 emerged and brought everything to a screeching halt. UGA (and the world) pivoted to virtual interaction. We were able to continue to provide outstanding seminars using Zoom, including Jay Wozniak, Tim Beatley, Piers Stephens, Jennifer Ceska, and Stephen Berry. An unexpected benefit of the virtual seminars was that people were able to attend from distant places or other reasons that would prevent them from attending in person, and overall attendance increased significantly.
2021
As life began to slowly return to normal, the EECP made significant improvements to programming and administration. Longtime supporters of the EECP, Scott and Heather Kleiner made a generous gift of $100,000 to the Margaret S. Kleiner Environmental Ethics Graduate Support Fund, increasing the fund’s overall amount significantly and renaming it the Margaret S. Kleiner Graduate Fellowship Fund. This fund provides support for an outstanding graduate student pursuing the Environmental Ethics certificate. Income from the fund may be used for tuition, living expenses, and other special expenses incurred in the course of graduate study. The first Margaret S. Kleiner Graduate Fellow, Allison Krausman, entered the EECP in fall of 2021. As a part of her fellowship, she has helped to restart or create several important initiatives. Philosopher’s Walks were restarted and will now recur approximately once a month in the fall and spring semester. We began a Screen on the Green series, with the inaugural event being a screening of "Kiss the Ground" in the Serpentine Garden at the Founders Memorial Garden. Seminars this year were: Kristie Wendelberger, Bethany Wiggin, Fausto Sarmiento, Jenny Hoffner, Janisse Ray, Dorinda Dallmeyer, Philip Juras, Darrel Morrison, Christine Cuomo, Scott Nesbit, and Tybee Island local government leaders Shirley Session and Shawn Gillen.