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Dr. Battle named Chair for Sustainable Atlanta.
Dr. Michael A. Battle was selected by Mayor Shirley Franklin to serve as Chair of the Mayor's Advisory Committee for A Sustainable Atlanta.
Go Green! |
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Now Available
Tours of Meditative Atrium |
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Now Open
TheoEcology Resource Center |
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As he left, David Orr asked us to prepare a proposal for a Planning Grant a.s.a.p. Dr. Battle, Dr. Burnett and I had it in Dr. Orr's hands a month later. Christmas, 2005, will always for me be associated with both Dr. Battle and me hearing from Dr. Orr the golden words -- “You're funded!” (The donor chooses to remain anonymous for the time being.) Dr. Orr suggested we begin with a visit to Oberlin to see the now-legendary Adam Lewis Environmental Center that in spite of great obstacles, Dr. Orr had brought into life there.
In March, 2006, Dr. Battle, Dr. Burnett, Mr. Cates, Ms. Malisha Brown, and I were welcomed to Oberlin College by Vice President of Community Affairs Alan Moran. He accompanied us and a film crew who recorded what will one day be a historic moment -- Dr.Orr welcoming us to the Lewis Center . (In the interim, we all had identified a documentary film as the centerpiece for a “TheoEcology” communication initiative and Mr. Moran and I worked together to capture this singular moment. We all know how critical communication was during the civil rights movement!).
At the April, 2006 Board Meeting, Dr. Battle included “TheoEcology” in his President's Report. He asked Dr. Burnett to summarize the Planning Grant process. I set forth the institution's opportunity, urging my colleagues to consider a formal affirmation of this initiative. The next day, the full Board of the ITC responded -- unanimously and enthusiastically -- “Yes!”
Through the summer and fall, those of us on the TheoEcology Lead Team did as faculty, staff and students had done -- we crafted a
Strategic Goal. “To be the living embodiment, spiritually and physically, of TheoEcology(sm) for the world, healing humanity's prime estrangement, our divorce from nature.” |
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At the October, 2006, Board meeting, I reported significant material progress. Mr. Cates, working with Mr. Lovins and his world-class resources, were further enhanced by Mr. Ray C. Anderson. He is founder and chairman of Interface, Inc., and is probably the most widely-recognized environmentally-responsible industrialist in the world.
From February 2005 forward, every bit of carpeting the ITC has installed in our ongoing renovation projects has been environmentally-friendly Interface carpeting. Non-toxic carpet and non-toxic finishes have everyone working in renovated areas breathing more easily. |
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The other part of my report in October, 2006, invited my fellow Board Members to consider our carefully crafted Strategic Goal, which was adopted -- again unanimously. It is now in your hands as the ITC's Strategic Goal #9.
The process of creating that Goal -- and the near-term, mid-term and long-term timeline for reaching that goal deserves a nod. We created it using an innovative concept called “backcasting.” “Backcasting” was originated and championed by Sweden 's Dr. Karl-Henrik Robért, founder of the Natural Step Process. Dr. Robért has subsequently become a “TheoEcology” Advisor.
“Backcasting” springs to life in the deceptively simple question we posed at the end of our sub-Goals.... "Is this consistent with ' Eden '?" This surprisingly demanding question will help us find our center of institutional gravity, will guide us as we frame everything we are about to create, physically and metaphysically. |
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