After leaving the College in June after 27 years, Environmental Studies Professor Jonathan Brownell is headed to Cambridge University in England in two weeks to teach at the Global Security Fellows Initiative.
Cambridge's Global Security Program is headed by former Environmental Studies Professor Jack Shepherd and focuses on helping "potential leaders" of countries in Central and Eastern Europe deal with problems such as the environment, conflict resolution, the economy and migration.
Brownell said he is very excited about the opportunity. "As with Dartmouth, I'll give it my all," he said.
Brownell, formerly Attorney General of Vermont, was offered the position after teaching a seminar for the program this summer.
At Dartmouth, Brownell was instrumental in the creation of the Environmental Studies program.
Brownell said the program originated in a course that he and Engineering Professor Al Converse taught in 1968.
According to Brownell the central focus of the course was "the use of current cases and real issues" relating to the management of the environment and is essentially the same as the current Environmental Studies 3 course.
The course became "a core part of the Environmental Studies program" that was created in 1970, one of the first such programs in the country.
Brownell said he and Converse first met in 1968, when he was Attorney General and sought Converse's help in advising on the creation of a nuclear power plant in Vermont.
Besides being a professor at the College, Brownell was also involved locally in a number of land use and planning issues. He assisted in the creation of Vermont Act 250, which put land development choices in the hands of citizens.
After more than 30 years of dedication to the College and the community, Brownell said he had "no idea" how permanent his new arrangement will be.
"I will stay as long as it is fun, challenging, and I'm doing a good job," he said.
