MUNCIE, Ind. -- "Greening of the Campus III: Theory and Reality" provides a third international forum for environmental strategies and actions next fall at Ball State University.

The interdisciplinary conference for faculty members, staff personnel and students from colleges and universities around the country and the world runs from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in Ball State’s L.A. Pittenger Student Center.

Greening of the Campus challenges colleges and universities to become environmentally sensitive models for society by bridging current community needs with future visions.

Environmental leaders David Orr, Robert Costanza, Hilary French, Susan Flader and John Ryan are keynoters. Workshops are led by Campus Ecology, the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future, the Chlorine-Free Paper Consortium and the Higher Education for Sustainability Network.

The conference also features nearly 40 paper presentations plus poster sessions and discussion groups. It is presented by Ball State’s Green Committee with support from the Provost’s Office.

"It’s important to periodically check on where we stand in this critical area and to see where other people at other places are on the same subject," said C. Warren Vander Hill, Ball State provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Ball State’s first two Greening of the Campus conferences in April 1996 and September 1997 each attracted 200 participants from about 30 states and a few foreign countries.

This year’s event offers a new opportunity to further explore the critical issues, problems and solutions facing campuses and the world on the eve of the new century and millennium.

Sessions explore diverse technical, educational, social, political and spiritual issues ranging from emerging curricula to physical plant management and facilities planning. Other areas include recycling, energy conservation, campus beautification, student projects, campus transportation and education programs.

Details on the conference’s keynote speakers:

• David Orr chairs Oberlin College’s environmental studies program, received the National Wildlife Federation’s National Conservation Achievement Award and is associate education editor for Conservation Biology magazine.
• Robert Costanza is president and co-founder of the International Society for Ecological Economics, chief editor of the Ecological Economics journal and director of the University of Maryland Institute for Ecological Economics.
• Hilary French is vice president for research at the Worldwatch Institute, where she has been the author of six Worldwatch Papers and a co-author and associate project director for several State of the World reports.
• Susan Flader is president of the American Society for Environmental History, University of Missouri history professor and author of "Thinking Like a Mountain: Aldo Leopold and the Evolution of an Ecological Attitude Toward Deer, Wolves and Forests."
• John Ryan is research director for Northwest Environment Watch in Seattle, and he has also been a Worldwatch Institute research associate and wrote "Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things" with Alan Thein Durning.

Conference fees for those who register before Sept. 3 are $95 for professionals and $45 for students. Late registration is $120 and $70, respectively. Receptions and meals are extra. Single-day registration is also available at reduced rates.

For more information, contact Becky Amato at (765) 285-2385, fax (765) 285-2384 or e-mail bamato@bsu.edu.