Leading for Sustainability: Environmental, Economic & Theological Perspectives

Please note that this event is held off-campus at University Chapel (5375 University Blvd, Vancouver), near Regent College.

How can we lead organizations that endure in an increasingly volatile world? What will it take to leave a healthy environment to the coming generations? Sustainability—the measure for whether a given process can go on—has become a major concern in today’s marketplace.

Join us from 12 to 1 pm on Thursday, October 3, for a panel discussion about leading with sustainability, co-presented by Regent College’s MA in Leadership, Theology, and Society (MALTS) and the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation (CSCA). Leading experts Janel Curry, Martin de Wit, and David Robinson will discuss sustainability at the intersection of science, economics, and public policy. The event will be moderated by Dr. Arnold Sikkema, Executive Director of CSCA.

Following the panel discussion, join us for a reception from 1 to 1:30 pm. Come meet CSCA and American Scientific Affiliation staff and learn more about Regent’s leadership program, MALTS.

Note: There will be an additional event on October 3 from 7 to 8:30 pm at Trinity Western University, co-sponsored by CSCA & TWU’s Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences. Martin de Wit will present a public lecture on “Sustainability and Biblical Creation Care” with responses from Janel Curry and David Clements. For more information, click here.

About the Speakers

Dr. Janel Curry, President of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA), obtained her PhD in geography from the University of Minnesota. She taught at Central College in Pella, Iowa and at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the areas of geography and environmental studies. Her areas of research have included environmental policy, religious worldviews and the environment, and women in leadership. This research has led to over 40 peer-reviewed publications. In addition, she has held three Fulbright Fellowships to the University of Guelph, Ontario; City University of Hong Kong; and most recently, Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan. Besides her scholarly interests, Janel has held several administrative roles, including being dean for research and scholarship at Calvin College and provost at Gordon College. She has two married daughters, both of whom point out that they all watched Nova together on Tuesday nights when they were growing up.

Martin de Wit is Scholar-in-Residence at Regent College for the 2024 Fall term. He is Professor of Environmental Governance at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and coordinates the School of Public Leadership’s Post Graduate Diploma and Master Programmes in Environmental Management. His research work focuses on care for creation, the interactions between the economy and the environment (notably climate, ecosystems, energy, and waste), and the place of the human person in environmental governance and social order. His latest book is written in vernacular Afrikaans and called Skeppingsorg: ‘n Aanset tot interpretasie van sekere Bybeltekste oor die mens se verhouding tot die natuurlike omgewing [Creation Care: An onset to interpreting certain Bible texts about human’s relationship to the natural environment] (Durbanville: AOSIS, forthcoming). He serves on the Board of Directors of A Rocha South Africa. He is married to Rianne, and they have three children.

Dr. David Robinson teaches Marketplace Theology and directs the Master of Arts in Leadership, Theology, and Society (MALTS) at Regent College. His current research focuses on the theological ethics of human work as well as approaches to sustainability (personal, corporate, and environmental). His previous research focused on modern philosophical and theological accounts of the self in society, including church-state relations. David is the author of Christ and Revelatory Community in Bonhoeffer’s Reception of Hegel. He has also published articles in Journal of Church and State, Modern Theology, Theology and Science, and Studies in Christian Ethics. He holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Edinburgh.