UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albion College at its 25th annual Elkin R. Isaac Student Research Symposium on April 24. Alley delivered the symposium's Joseph S. Calvaruso Keynote Address with the talk “A Brighter Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Optimistic Future of Energy and Environment.” He also met with a number of student and faculty groups in addition to receiving the honorary doctorate.
"Albion College clearly has succeeded in organizing a community of scholars, committed to adding to knowledge through research and sharing that knowledge beyond the campus," Alley said of Albion's Isaac Symposium. "My discussions with faculty, students and staff highlighted the growing effort to promote sustainability learning at Albion, involving not just the hard sciences but numerous fields including ethics, philosophy and history, plus facilities and other day-to-day issues of campus life. As someone who has committed decades to discovering and sharing those discoveries, I thoroughly enjoy meeting others who are similarly committed, and doing so well."
Albion College’s Interim President Mike Frandsen commented, "Richard Alley's contributions to our world are notable, not only because of the science, but also, and perhaps more importantly, because of how accessible he makes it. It was a real honor to have him visit Albion. His informative and entertaining Calvaruso address was a fitting capstone to the symposium."
Alley is a renowned expert in climate and polar ice research, and is the most recent in a list of internationally renowned Calvaruso keynote speakers, including Kurt Vonnegut, Salman Rushdie, Steven Jay Gould, E.O. Wilson, Gloria Steinem, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Alexander McCall-Smith.