Vermont Law School, known for its top-ranked environmental law program, has announced that James Gustave Speth, currently dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, will be joining its faculty as of July 1, 2010. Speth has served as dean and professor at Yale since 1999. Prior to his time at Yale, he served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and chair of the UN Development Group. Earlier, he was founder and president of the World Resources Institute; professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center; chairman of the U.S. Council on Environmental Quality; and senior attorney and cofounder of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Throughout his career, Dean Speth has provided leadership and entrepreneurial initiatives to many task forces and committees working to combat environmental degradation, including the President's Task Force on Global Resources and Environment; the Western Hemisphere Dialogue on Environment and Development; and the National Commission on the Environment. Among his awards are the National Wildlife Federation's Resources Defense Award; the Natural Resources Council of America's Barbara Swain Award of Honor; a Special Recognition Award from the Society for International Development; the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Environmental Law Institute; and the Blue Planet Prize. His publications include The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability; Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment; Worlds Apart: Globalization and the Environment; Global Environmental Governance, and articles in Foreign Affairs; Environmental Science and Technology; Columbia Journal World of Business, and other Journal.
