Rotman Annual Fall Lecture Series - Dr. Brendon Samuels

Each year, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy organizes a public lecture series open to the public.  The theme for this year’s lecture series is Connecting Research to the Public Good.

The Public Good and higher education are traversing constantly-shifting political, economic, and social terrain.
What role do we have — as academic researchers, teachers, students, leaders of research centers and institutes, and members of our communities and society — to connect our work to the Public Good? How can we best attend to the needs and interests of communities and society? And how ought we envision the Public Good and the role of higher education within it?

Rooting Resilience: a Call for Academics to Love Where We Live

In this lecture, Brendon Samuels will discuss how he applied his research locally during his doctoral studies to pursue nature-positive decision making. Building on these experiences, he advocates for laying down roots and nurturing relationships beyond campus –radical acts that humanize the academy and steward the places academics call home.

SPEAKER BIO:

Brendon Samuels holds a PhD in Biology and Master of Neuroscience from Western University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Guelph. While studying at Western, Brendon served as chair of the City of London’s Environmental Stewardship and Action Community Advisory Committee, as the Society of Graduate Students Sustainability Coordinator and as a member of Western’s President’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainability. Brendon founded and leads Bird Friendly London, a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and celebrating birds in the city. He is currently the vice chair of the Old North East Neighbourhood Association and teaching a graduate course about sustainability topics at Western. Brendon has received awards recognizing his research and service from Western University, Nature London, the London Environmental Network, Nature Canada and the Urban League of London.