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Senator Thomas R. Carper |
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Sen. Carper's visit to R-MC |
United States Senator Thomas R. Carper (Delaware) discussed environmental and energy issues at Randolph-Macon College on Friday, November 5, 2010. The discussion was held in the Washington Room of Washington-Franklin Hall.
Senator Carper’s visit was arranged in conjunction with the First-Year Experience (FYE) course “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” taught by Professors Reber Dunkel (sociology) and Brian Moores (chemistry). Students enrolled in the course are examining ways of reducing Randolph-Macon’s ecological “footprint” and are assisting the college in implementing a campus-wide environmental management system.
“Our FYE students have been involved with projects on campus and with the Town of Ashland, emphasizing initiatives that reduce the college’s ecological footprint and promote stewardship of the environment,” says Dunkel. “Examples of our student initiatives are the designation of Estes Dining Hall and Macon Coffee as “green restaurants” and the recent acceptance of the entire campus into the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s E2 environmental management system.” Dunkel says that, given Senator Carper’s influential role in crafting comprehensive energy and climate legislation, “it seemed appropriate that President Lindgren invite Senator Carper to speak on our campus. Professor Moores and I think this is a great way to give our students a broader environmental perspective.”
Senator Carper is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. His career in public service began in 1976 when he was elected to the first of three terms as Delaware's state treasurer. Six years later, he was elected to Delaware’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. After serving five terms as a U.S. congressman, he was elected the 78th governor of Delaware in 1992 and served two terms in that role. In 2001, Governor Carper stepped down to become Delaware’s junior senator. With his re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006, he has been elected to state-wide public office in Delaware 12 times. When Senator Biden stepped down to become vice president in 2009, Senator Carper became Delaware’s senior senator. He also serves on the Senate committee, which controls all tax policy and is involved in energy and climate legislation.
R-MC Provost William Franz welcomed Senator Carper and presented him with an R-MC sweatshirt and baseball cap. Katie Daisey ’12, who hails from Delaware, introduced the Senator at the beginning of the discussion.
This event was sponsored by the Departments of Sociology and Political Science, the Environmental Studies Program, The First-Year Experience program, and Students for Environmental Action (SEA).