The Fletcher School’s International Environment and Resource Policy
Program received a proverbial “shot in the arm” with a generous
four-year grant of $900,000 from the Henry R. Luce Foundation’s Program
in Public Policy. Most of the funding will go directly to students in
the form of summer internship awards and fellowships to defray tuition.
William Moomaw, Professor of International Environmental Policy,
describes the benefits to Fletcher. “This is the first year we’ve been
able to support students’ internships between their first and second
years of study. Summer internship awards were given to 16 students who
are now working on a variety of interesting projects all over the world.
We have students in: the Forestry Department in Bolivia; the Brazilian
Business Council for Sustainable Development; Ecuador, looking at the
environmental impacts of shrimp aquaculture; London, doing environmental
documentaries; the U.S., working on global energy issues; and a number
of other places.” Students who might otherwise have to decline
internship offers owing to financial obstacles are able to take
advantage of rare opportunities and bring those experiences back to
Fletcher.
The Luce award will also be used to bring new faculty and guest speakers
to Fletcher. Dr. Atiq Rahman, the Director of the Bangladesh Center for
Advanced Study and a leading scholar of sustainable development and
climate change, will teach a course on development from the perspective
of developing countries this fall. Dr. Charles Chester will teach a
course on conservation of biological diversity.
Guest speakers will present on a wide range of environmental topics. The
International Environment and Resource Policy Program, in conjunction
with the International Business Program will bring Richard Sandor,
Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Climate Exchange, to speak on a new
voluntary cap-and-trade program for reducing and trading greenhouse gas
emissions. The Executive Vice President of International Paper, one of
the largest landowners in the world, will speak on environmental
responsibility. Other topics include sustainable development in South
America and Latin America, and an interesting collaboration with the
Securities Studies Program on the environmental effects of nuclear
proliferation.
The grant will also permit the hiring of a full-time assistant director
to improve program administration. Additionally, the award has
stimulated a fund raising drive to endow a chair for the program.
Professor Moomaw sums it up best, “The Luce award brings tremendous and
unprecedented opportunities to the International Environment and
Resource Policy Program.”
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