Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The managing director and vice president of the Nature Conservancy's Southern U.S. Region is this year's guest for the Carlton N. Owen Lecture Series at Mississippi State University.
Robert L. Bendick Jr. speaks Thursday [April 7] in Thompson Hall's Tully Auditorium. The public program will be followed by a reception--also open to all--in the same location.
"Conserving the South's Forest Heritage" is the topic of Bendick's 1:30 p.m. address.
The lecture program was established in the College of Forest Resources in 1992 by Owen, a 1974 MSU graduate residing in Greenville, S.C. In accordance with his wishes, forest resources stewardship is the series' continuing focus.
Bendick's career in environmental conservation spans more than two decades in the public and private sectors, including urban and regional conservation planning in New York, Rhode Island and throughout the Southeast.
The Nature Conservancy is the world's largest private, international conservation group. Founded in 1951, the Arlington, Va.-based organization works to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth.
Prior to assuming his regional leadership role, Bendick directed the conservancy's Florida region for seven years. Previous to that, he held the offices of deputy commissioner and director of natural resource planning in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
He is a member of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee and has received numerous awards from the American Planning Association, New England Environmental Network and the Chevron Corp.
For more information on the 2005 lecture, telephone (662) 325-2953.