Westminster to host CIC Visiting Fellow Christine Todd Whitman

Westminster College will host Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Visiting Fellow and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman during a series of online events from Monday, Oct. 4 through Wednesday, Oct. 6.
 
Whitman, who is also the former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will speak virtually with different Westminster College classes, discussing issues ranging from her career in politics to environmental policy.

On Monday, Oct. 4, Whitman will share her perspectives on the theme of “Getting and Surviving a Career in Politics” with political science students, followed by conversations on the theme of “The EPA and Perspectives on Climate Change, Then and Now” with environmental science students. That evening, she will discuss “Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance” with students, alumni and faculty who are involved with Westminster’s Analyst Program.

On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Whitman will speak with students in the Governmental Accounting course, sharing perspectives on topics such as the government’s responsibility on how taxpayer dollars are spent, as well as the financial and societal benefits of facilitating environmentally sustainable practices within government operations.

On Tuesday she will also share her experiences around the theme of “Conflict Management, to Service/Community Engagement and Leadership” with communication students, followed by a conversation on the theme of “The Current Health of America’s Democracy” with political science students.

Whitman will offer a campus-wide virtual event, “Environmental Policy and Politics,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4. This conversation is sponsored by the Department of Political Science, the First-Year Program and the Center for the Environment.

On Wednesday, Whitman will discuss “Why Sustainability Matters” with first-year students enrolled in the Introduction to a Liberal Arts Education course, followed by reflections on “Lessons Learned from Governmental Public Communications” with students in the College’s strategic communications program. Whitman will round out her virtual sessions with a conversation on “The Social, Political and Economic Facets of Environmental Issues” with environmental science students.
    
Whitman served as New Jersey’s 50th and first female governor from 1994 to 2001. She served the EPA under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. She now is president of the Whitman Strategy Group, a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues.

She is the author of a New York Times best seller, “It’s My Party Too,” which was published in January 2005. Whitman holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.

The CIC Visiting Fellows program brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders and other professionals to college campuses across the United States. For more than 45 years, Visiting Fellows have been introducing students and faculty members at liberal arts colleges to a wide range of perspectives on life, society, community and achievement.

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