CONWAY, Ark. (Jan. 22, 2009) – Dr. Bill Weber, one of the world’s leading experts on the conservation of gorillas and their habitat, will be speaking Monday at Hendrix College. His presentation, beginning at 7 p.m. in Mills C on the college’s campus, is free and open to the public.
Weber has worked for 30 years in the field of international conservation. He lived and worked in Africa for nearly 10 years, more than six of them in Rwanda. There he was co-founder of the highly successful Mountain Gorilla Project, designed and directed an integrated watershed management project in Ruhengeri Province, helped develop the Nyungwe Forest Conservation Project, and led a recently approved project design process for Rwanda’s forest parks. He also co-authored the Bururi Forest Management Plan in Burundi and helped develop several other park and forest conservation and development initiatives across the Congo Basin and in Madagascar. He is a recognized expert in human aspects of conservation and a pioneer of the modern ecotourism movement.
“We are honored to have someone of Dr. Weber’s expertise, experience and enthusiasm for animal conservation visiting our campus and the community,” said Dr. Tom Goodwin, Hendrix’s Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. “His perspective working with gorilla conservation and ecotourism in Africa is one that few people in the world possess.”
Weber was a pioneer of applied social science for conservation in the 1970s. His research in Rwanda and work with the Mountain Gorilla Project continues to serve as a model for ecotourism and integrated conservation and development. He was previously a senior editor of African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation, has authored dozens of articles on subjects ranging from community development to carnivore conservation, and his work has been featured in multiple films. His experiences in Rwanda are described in the critically-acclaimed book, In the Kingdom of Gorillas, which he wrote with his wife, Dr. Amy Vedder.
Weber’s public talk Monday caps a lengthy day of activity on the Hendrix campus. He will speak informally during the day with Dr. George Harper’s General Zoology class, Dr. Joyce Hardin’s Concepts in Biology class, and Dr. Matt Moran’s Field Ecology class before attending a reception with Hendrix students, faculty and staff who have recently visited Rwanda, as well as Hendrix’s 10 Rwandan students, currently studying in the U.S. as part of a partnership with the Rwandan government.
Following the 7 p.m. discussion, Weber will be available to sign copies of his book during a reception.
The visit is being sponsored by the Hendrix Odyssey Program, the American Chemical Society Hendrix Student Affiliates Chapter, and the Hendrix Biology Society.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 165 colleges featured in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Value Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.