"Rethinking the Economics of Energy, Climate, and Food," an examination of sustainable agriculture, will be presented beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, September 29, in conference room C/D, lower level of the Public Affairs Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program is free and open to the public. The featured speaker will be Dr. John Ikerd (above left), emeritus professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a recognized expert on issues related to sustainable agriculture.
Ikerd's major research and educational efforts have included evaluations of the impact of sustainable agriculture on the quality of life for farm families and others in rural communities. He has also served as the head of a three-state, five-year program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that linked sustainable agriculture and sustainable community development. As Missouri's co-coordinator of extension programs in sustainable agriculture, Ikerd initiated a national professional development program for those whose jobs involved providing the public with information on the subject. He is the author of numerous books, including Sustainable Capitalism (Kumerian Press, 2005), A Return to Common Sense (R.T. Edwards Inc., 2007), and Small Farms are Real Farms (Acres USA).
Dr. Ikerd's address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.
Upcoming ECCE programs include "99 Questions You've always Wanted to Ask an African American," with actor/playwright Mark Cryer, on October 1; "Japan and a Changing Asia," with international security expert R. Michael Schiffer, on October 6; and "Lawyers, 'Lawfare,' the War on Terrorism, and the Rule of Law," with law professor Steve Vladeck, on October 9. The complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester is available at www.uis.edu/generaleducation/about/index.html.
For more information about Dr. Ikerd's presentation, contact Denise Keele, UIS assistant professor of Environmental Studies, at 206-7895.
For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.
