About the endowment
The Lane Family Lecture in Environmental Science is endowed by a gift from L.W. “Bill” Lane, former publisher of Sunset magazine and numerous books and films, and his wife, Jean. The Lane Family Lecture was inaugurated in 1993.
In addition to the lecture series, the Lanes, along with their son Robert, a 1983 Washington State University graduate, created the Robert Lane Fellowship in Environmental Science. The fellowship supports graduate students studying environmental science at WSU.
“We are strong proponents of public service and hope that the annual lecture and fellowship encourage efforts to find solutions to some of the global problems that confront society,” said Bill Lane.
Bill Lane, a graduate of Stanford University, was the co-chairman of Lane Publishing Co. and publisher of Sunset magazine. He was a U.S. ambassador to Australia and Nauru, and ambassador-at-large to Japan. He also served as chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Centennial of National Parks, and on many other corporate and government committees and education boards.
Jean Lane, a graduate of Northwestern University, was a docent at Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and served on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, the National Tropical Botanical Garden, and the Filoli Center in Woodside, Calif.
Gifts to support the Lane Family Lecture or Robert Lane Fellowship can be made securely online.
Gifts to support other SoE programs, students, research, and activities can be made by contacting the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) development office or the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS) development office.
Co-sponsors of annual events has included
College of Arts and Sciences; College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences; Global Connections; Martin Luther King Program; Department of Sociology; SoE Graduate Student Association; Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service; Collective for Social & Environmental Justice; and Common Reading Program.
SoE Graduate Student Association; WSU Vancouver Native American Affairs; Collective for Social and Environmental Justice; WSUV Graduate Student Association; WSUV English Department.
Previous Speakers
Catherine Coleman Flowers
“Environmental Justice in Rural America”
Followed by an interdisciplinary expert panel discussion.
David Treuer
“Modern Native America and Environmental Justice”
Paul Auerbach, MD
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine | Stanford University School of Medicine
“The Intersection of Climate Change and Human Health”
Sandra Postel
2021 Stockholm Water Prize recipient
Founding Director | Global Water Policy Project
“Water Is the New Oil”
Jane Goodall
Renowned primatologist
While at WSU, Jane Goodall visited our pygmy rabbit conservation team.
Harold A Mooney
Paul S. Achilles Professor in Environmental Biology | Stanford University
“Taking Stock of Nature’s Assets”
David T. Suzuki
Emeritus Professor | University of British Columbia
Activist and science broadcaster
“Ecology vs. Economy Setting the Real Bottom Line”
Cecil D. Andrus
Former U.S. Secretary of Interior (1977-1981) and Governor of Idaho
“Threatening Clouds Over Our Environment”
Gene E. Likens
Founding Director, President Emeritus | Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Professor Emeritus | University of Wisconsin, Madison
“Acid Rain and the Biogeochemistry of Calcium at Hubbard Brook”
John W. Terborgh
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences | Duke University
“New Horizons in Global Conservation”