Former EPA Administrator to Speak at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Carol M. Browner, administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton Administration, will be the keynote speaker during the Earth Day Environmental Science Colloquium to be held on April 20 in the Student Union Social Hall and Theatre on the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

The event, which will be free of charge and open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. with a screening and discussion of the film "Erin Brockovich," and will feature oral presentations, an awards presentation and a roundtable discussion, "Charting UB's Environmental Responsibility -- Academic and Service."

It is sponsored by the Environment and Society Institute, the Environmental Health Sciences Graduate Group and the Environmental Studies Program in the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Degree Program, all at UB; the UB Green Office, and Westinghouse.

The colloquium, which will focus on environmental sciences, education, policy and programs, will provide opportunities for scientists, faculty members and students to present research findings and identify common issues or problems that can lead to new collaborative efforts.

Browner, now a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute, will speak at 1:30 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.

Appointed by President Clinton in January 1993, she is the longest-serving administrator in the history of the EPA.

She worked with the auto and oil industries, governors and public-health advocates to forge a consensus on new clean-air standards for cars and sport-utility vehicles, and gasoline and diesel fuel, and developed the successful federal "brownfields" program to clean up and redevelop abandoned, contaminated urban properties. The program has leveraged more than $1 billion in public and private funds for brownfields redevelopment, created thousands of jobs and helped hundreds of communities across the nation bring these idle properties back to productive use.

In addition, she worked closely with Congress to build bipartisan support to pass two pivotal modern environmental laws -- the landmark Food Quality Protection Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Her career in public service spans more than two decades. Prior to becoming EPA administrator, she was secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation.

Browner received bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Florida.