NSU Forum Looks At Building Sustainable Communities
NSU Forum Looks At Building Sustainable Communities
TAHLEQUAH Northeastern State University will wrap up a series of forums honoring the inauguration of the institutions 17th President Dr. Don Betz with Building Sustainable Communities in Eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, April 29 at the NET Building Auditorium on the Tahlequah campus at 7 p.m.
Presenters will discuss regional practices in creating sustainable communities in the environmental, economic development and social realms.
Moderated by Dr. David Lewerenz, assistant professor of Optometry at NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry, the forum will feature panelists Ken Purdy, Tahlequah mayor, Ed Fite, administrator for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, Dr. Mia Revels, NSU Professor of Biology, Tom Elkins, administrator of Environmental Programs for the Cherokee Nation, and Danny Perry, executive director of the Tahlequah Main Street Association.
Dr. David Lewerenz received his doctor of optometry degree from the University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Optometry. He completed a residency in Low Vision Rehabilitation at the Veterans Administration Medical Center affiliated with UAB and is a Clinical Diplomate in Low Vision in the American Academy of Optometry. Lewerenz joined the faculty of the NSUOCO in January 2008.
As mayor of Tahlequah, Ken Purdy oversees municipal services and programs for a community of more than 16,000 residents and associated businesses and institutions. Prior to his first election as mayor in 2004, Purdy spent nearly 20 years as program director of the Solid Waste Institute of Northeast Oklahoma, a Tahlequah-based corporation providing environmental management consulting services in a public interest capacity throughout northeast Oklahoma. He has been recognized for professional achievements by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and three Oklahoma governors. Purdy holds a bachelors degree from Oklahoma State University and a masters degrees from the University of Arizona.
A lifelong Oklahoman, Ed Fite has served as administrator for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission, a state agency charged with protecting and preserving the Illinois River and its tributaries, since 1983. Throughout his career, Fite has served on state and federal boards dedicated to protecting wildlife and the environment, including the Interagency Wild and Scenic River Coordinating Council and the National Association of State and Local River Conservation Programs. Fite is actively involved in a wide range of river disciplines, including applied fluvial geomorphology, riverine management and swiftwater rescue technician instructor for Rescue 3 International. He earned his bachelors degree for NSU.
Currently studying the ecological and behavioral aspects of Swainsons Warblers in Oklahoma, Dr. Mia Revels has been a professor of biology at NSU since 1995. Revels has published her research in numerous academic publications, including the Wilson Journal of Ornithology and the Breeding Bird Atlas of Oklahoma. She is an executive council member of the Wilson Ornithological Society and served as meeting director for the Oklahoma Academy of Science. Revels earned her bachelors and masters degrees in biology from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., and her Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Arkansas Fayetteville.
A Cherokee citizen, Tom Elkins has worked for the Cherokee Nation for the past 13 years. He began his tenure with the tribe in the Environmental Programs Department as an environmental analyst. He was last an environmental scientist and director of Environmental Programs before being named administrator. Elkins hold a bachelors degree in environmental management, and masters degrees in industrial management and business administration for NSU.
For the past five years, Danny Perry has worked extensively on economic development, historic preservation and promotion of Tahlequahs historic downtown area through his work with the Tahlequah Main Street Association. Before taking the position, he served two years on the organizations board. He also serves on numerous committees in the community and across the state such as the 2010 National Main Street Conference planning committee, NSU Homecoming Committee and the Sequoyah Institute Advisory board. Perry earned his associates degree from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and his bachelors degree in psychology from NSU.
Inauguration Week forums begin on Monday, April 27 with Health Care Challenges in Eastern Oklahoma, at NSUBroken Arrow in the Building A Auditorium at 7 p.m. and continue on Tuesday, April 28 Health Care Challenges in Eastern Oklahoma, at NSUMuskogee in the Conference Center Auditorium at 7 p.m. A Student Community Picnic will be held Thursday, April 30 at 5 p.m. in the Culver Courtyard next to the University Center in Tahlequah.
The week will finish with the inauguration ceremony of Dr. Don Betz as the 17th president of Northeastern State University on Friday, May 1 at 2 p.m. on the Seminary Hall Lawn.
4/22/2009
Published: 2009-04-22 00:00:00