Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - Bangor Daily News

New leader has plans for college
Unity 'ready to take next step,' chief says

By Tom Groening, Bangor Daily News Reporter

UNITY - Unity College's new president knows the multiple meanings of green.

He's an environmental studies professor with experience in raising money.

Mitchell Thomashow, 55, is chairman of the environmental studies department and associate dean for institutional advancement at Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, N.H.

He will start July 15 at Unity, a 500-student liberal arts college that specializes in environment issues.

An experienced and enthusiastic advocate for the burgeoning field of environmental studies, Thomashow will succeed Mark Lapping, who was chosen to serve as interim president through the 2005-06 year.

 Mitchell Thomashow talks about his new position as president

of Unity College on Monday. He will assume the post on July 15.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN

Lapping took over from David Glenn-Lewin, who resigned in June 2005 to return to teaching.

Thomashow has been at Antioch for nearly 30 years and said he was happy in his work there.

But the opportunity to lead Unity College beyond the niche it now serves was too good to pass up, he said.

"My life work is to promote environmental studies," he said.

The Antioch Web site notes that Thomashow, as associate dean, participates in the collective administration of the school and has been working with the Antioch president's office to lay the groundwork for a capital campaign.

On campus Monday, Thomashow described Unity, founded in 1965, as "a full spectrum environmental college ready to take the next step."

That next step is to become known nationally, he said.

"Unity's not as well known as it needs to be," he said.

He believes he is well-suited to help Unity refine its vision and become recognized for what it does well.

"Environmental studies is an emerging field," Thomashow said. "The pieces are in place so Unity can have a real voice."

Another way Thomashow expects to put Unity College on the map is through his speaking engagements at national conferences.

Thomashow is the author of two books. "Ecological Identity: Becoming a Reflective Environmentalist" (1995) sold well for an academic press publication, he said. "Bringing the Biosphere Home" (2001) was published in 2001.

In addition to putting Unity on the national map, Thomashow hopes to bring more cohesion to the school's majors, he said.

Unity is a private, four-year liberal arts college that offers a wide range of environmental degrees: aquaculture and fisheries, conservation law enforcement and wildlife biology. Other degrees include environmental humanities and environmental writing.

"Sometimes it takes an outsider" to create a new vision, he said.

The student body has historically been split between those who hunt and fish and are aiming for careers in resource management, and those who see themselves as environmental activists aiming for careers in preservation and conservation.

That dynamic is part of what interested Thomashow.

He also liked the hands-on nature of Unity's approach to education.

"A lot of schools are ivory tower-oriented," he said, in contrast to Unity's "applied learning."

Thomashow also was drawn to Unity's commitment to sustainability.

Students and faculty have worked to bring "green" energy to the campus, and are regularly investigating other ways the college can tread lightly on Earth.

Thomashow, who is originally from the New York metropolitan area, earned a bachelor's degree in urban problems from New York University in 1971. He earned a master's degree in history from State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1973. His 1986 doctorate in education is from the University of Massachusetts.

The Unity board of trustees undertook a national search for its new president, and board Chairman Robert Pollis said members are excited to have landed Thomashow.

Pollis said Monday that Thomashow's energy and enthusiasm helped him land the post as much as his experience.

"I think the thing that impressed me most was the passion with which Mitch presents his thoughts. He's got what it takes," he said.

Thomashow praised the college's faculty and staff, and said he will continually remind them their mission is to educate students.

"We're going to train a lot of kids to go out and make the world a better place," he said.

Thomashow and his wife have two adult children. The couple will move to the Unity area this summer.