About the Conservation Colloquium

Through a diverse range of work, faculty at the University of Washington are exploring a wide range of conservation issues. More often than not, however, these activities are carried out without an understanding of how other disciplines are addressing related issues. To link faculty activities and foster a better sense of community, the Conservation Colloquium will highlight a cross section of faculty work and will encourage faculty from across the university to engage in a discussion of conservation issues. From this beginning, we hope that a mutually-supportive community of conservation scholars who share teaching, research, scholarship or practice interests will develop at UW.

We are convening the Conservation Colloquium because we believe that the concept of conservation will influence higher education's work for decades to come as societies throughout the world grapple with the implications of vital issues such as global warming and climate instability, ecosystem service disruptions, loss of biodiversity, energy and resource depletion, pandemic human health concerns, social justice and the allocation of global resources, and technological changes necessitated by the end of cheap oil.

This event has resulted from the efforts of several campus groups, programs, and centers, to which we are grateful for pioneering this movement towards an integrated vision of conservation at UW.