2012 Keiser Distinguished Lectureship in Life Sciences: Dr. Sylvia Earle

Sylvia A. Earle, called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend  by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine, is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for corporate and non-profit organizations including the Kerr McGee Corporation, Dresser Industries, Oryx Energy, the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, Mote Marine Laboratory, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Rutgers Institute for Marine Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Research, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Ocean Futures, and Ocean Conservancy.

Formerly Chief Scientist of NOAA, Dr. Earle is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Founder of SEAlliance, Mission Blue, and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Inc., and Chairs Advisory Councils for the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies; the Ocean in Google Earth; the Marine Science and Technology Foundation and the Schmidt Research Vessel Institute.  She has a B.S. degree from Florida State University, M.S. and PhD. from Duke University, 19 honorary degrees, has lectured in more than 80 countries, appeared in hundreds of radio and television productions and has authored more than 175 scientific, technical and popular publications including Exploring the Deep Frontier, Sea Change, Wild Ocean, Dive, The National Geographic Atlas of the Ocean and The World is Blue.

Named in honor of professor Terry D. Keiser, BSEd '64, the Keiser Distinguished Lectureship in Life Sciences brings nationally prominent life sciences scholars to Ohio Northern's campus each year to lecture and interact with students.

With an endowment of more than $1 million, the lectureship has been funded by gifts from alumni, friends and colleagues. Among the major gifts was a donation from Keiser's Northern classmates Robert Gronlund, BA '64, and his wife, DeOnne, of Lewisburg, Pa.

Keiser  joined the Ohio Northern faculty in 1967, rising from instructor to professor of biological sciences to chair of the department. He served as the chair of the University Council and is the director of ONU's Metzger Nature Center. He was instrumental in establishing the Metzger Nature Center in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and the ONU Tidd-Oakes Farm, a 300-acre wetlands restoration project just 12 miles from campus.

Do you have a suggestion for a speaker for the Keiser Lectureship? Contact Professor Jay Mager at j-mager@onu.edu.