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JANUARY 2005

(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.”#

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