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(L-R) Benno Schmidt, Theodore Kheel,
Chancellor Matthew Goldstein |
Theodore
Kheel Receives Chancellor’s Medal
By Nazneen Malik
At a recent gathering at
the CUNY Graduate Center, prominent labor lawyer and mediator,
Theodore Kheel, was awarded the prestigious Chancellor’s
Medal for his outstanding public service and continued commitment
to education. With this rare honor, he joins the ranks of Dr.
Jonas Salk, Mayor Robert Wagner, Coretta Scott King, and Cardinal
O’Connor.
Hailed by The New York Times
as “the most influential
peacemaker in New York City in the last half century,” Kheel
has dedicated much of his life to resolving labor disputes. During
the 1992 Earth Summit, he shifted some of that focus towards
environmental advocacy. However, it was through the prism of
conflict resolution that Kheel first became interested in environmental
issues. The Summit introduced Kheel to the much debated conflict
between environmental protection and economic development. “I
saw sustainable development as a form of conflict resolution,” says
Kheel “and I continue to view the problem from that point
of view.”
Consequently, Kheel created
the Earth Pledge Foundation, the Carriage House Center on Global
Issues, and more recently, Nurture New York’s Nature
(NNYN). These initiatives serve to foster dialogue concerning
environmental issues and to create a network of organizations
and individuals who support these issues such as artists Christo
and Jeanne-Claude.
Kheel succeeded in obtaining
permission from New York City for the artists to install The
Gates, a temporary outdoor art exhibit comprised of 7500 saffron-colored
gates that will line the pedestrian walkways of Central Park
from February 12 through February 27th. In addition, the artists
are bearing the full cost of the exhibit while giving NNYN
an exclusive worldwide royalty free license to use their intellectual
property rights to raise money for the foundation. In fact,
NNYN was created in pursuance to that gift. “They are
doing something exceptional,” says Kheel, “and
we are very much indebted to them.”
Prior to the awards ceremony,
Kheel, along with John Walman, Professor of Biology at Queens
College, was engaged in an interview moderated by CUNY Chancellor
Matthew Goldstein. “As
a public university serving New York’s five boroughs,” began
Goldstein, “CUNY is acutely aware of the environmental
challenges faced by our city. It gives me great pleasure
to announce that at its November board meeting, CUNY’s
trustees approved the creation of the CUNY Institute to Nurture
New York’s Nature. This institute came about because
of the vision and generosity of Ted Kheel. It is a remarkable
commitment to the nature of New York City and to nurturing
its future.”
The CUNY Institute to Nurture
New York’s Nature is part
of a strategic alliance between CUNY and NNYN to promote environmental
awareness in urban cities. In support of the alliance, Kheel
has awarded a grant of one million dollars to be paid in four
annual installments.
The new Institute, which
is to be housed at Queens College, will “serve as a nexus
between the foundations and agencies [and will] harvest ideas
from local environmental activists and agencies to provide
the connection that is lacking right now,” says Walman.
Queens College already has close ties to and will continue
to work with the Lamont Doherty labs of Columbia University,
the America Museum of Natural History and the Wildlife Conservation
Society. The institute will be more of a service organization
dedicated to research, to public outreach, to developing programs
for students in grades K-12 and will also be a vehicle for
new academic programming. Baruch College already offers a widely
popular course entitled “Nature of New York,” and
will be used as a model for future courses.
“Queens [College] is
delighted, really honored to have this,” says James Muyskens,
President of Queens College. “It’s
a wonderful fit since we have had a strong commitment to environmental
issues and we think that one of the major issues for higher education
today is to tell people how to be stewards of our environment.”
“CUNY can help
create a model for other cities and other urban colleges
and universities,” says Benno Schmidt, Chairperson
of the CUNY Board of Trustees. “I think it’s a wonderful
day for CUNY.”#
