The University of Massachusetts Amherst invites the campus community to participate in a symposium honoring the Honorable John W. Olver on the eve of his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives. The symposium will focus on Representative Olver’s many contributions in the areas of economic development, environmental sustainability, renewable energy, and the Western Massachusetts knowledge corridor. The symposium will also recognize Representative Olver’s donation of his papers to the W.E.B. Dubois Library at UMass Amherst.
Registration for the symposium is required and space is limited. To reserve your space, please contact the Office of External Relations and University Events at 413-577-1101 or events@admin.umass.edu.
Program of Events:
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Welcoming Remarks
Speaker: Michael Malone, Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Panel Session 1: Transit as a Vehicle for Economic Development
Speakers: Linda Dunlavy, Executive Director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments; Joseph Krupczynski, Associate Professor of Art, Architecture, and Art History; Alex B. Morse, Mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Moderator: Jane Fountain, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Administration
12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Lunch and Speaker
Speaker: M.V. Lee Badgett, Professor of Economics and Public Policy and Administration
1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.: Panel Session 2: Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Speakers: Curt Spalding, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Region; Kristin DeBoer, Executive Director of the Kestrel Land Trust; Steve Goodwin, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, UMass Amherst
Moderator: Charles Schweik, Associate Professor of Environmental Conservation and Public Policy and Administration
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Panel Session 3: Energy from Renewable Sources
Speakers: Lynn Benander, President and CEO of Co-op Power; Robert Pollin, Professor of Economics; Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute
Moderator: Michael Ash, Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics, UMass Amherst
4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.: Closing Reception