REPAIRING AND REJUVENATING OUR DEMOCRACY
"Can democratic societies rise to the challenge? Can we fix what ails our democracy? Is the very survival of democracy in jeopardy?"
- A conversation with Professor Emeritus David Orr

“Like a house with a leaking roof, sagging floors, broken windows, and a crumbling foundation, American democracy is suffering from decades of disrepair,” wrote Professor Orr. “The challenge of reforming and updating democratic institutions would be difficult enough in ‘normal’ times, but we do not live in normal times. The pace of change is faster than ever, the problems bigger, the corruption deeper, the risks more global, the time to prevent the worst that could happen is short, and the consequences of further delay beyond reckoning.”

Orr observes that to some degree, we have risen to the challenge before—in our founding as a nation, in the Civil War, in the New Deal, and in the civil rights movement. Yet we now face a much broader test of our commitment to protect and enlarge the ideal of democracy of, by, and for all of the people. He argues that a fuller and truly effective answer must include everyone: every citizen, every organization, every corporation, and every institution. “For those who believe in democracy, it is all-hands-on-deck time in America.”

Come for a timely discussion with one of Oberlin most revered faculty members who inspired Oberlin students to change the world.

Post-Event Reception:
Continue the conversation afterwards at a non-host reception that will be held nearby (location to be announced).

David Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies & Politics, Emeritus, at Oberlin College. He is the author of eight books and is the editor of four others. He is the recipient of nine honorary degrees and a dozen other awards. While at Oberlin he spearheaded the effort to design, fund, and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which was named by an AIA panel in 2010 as “the most important green building of the past 30 years,” and as “one of 30 milestone buildings of the twentieth century” by the U.S. Department of Energy. He also was instrumental in funding the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center.

For further information contact Clyde Owan ’79 at: clydeobie@verizon.net.