Major New Environmental/Natural Resources Course Series for 2010 Announced: "Sustainable Natural Resources Development Series"

In 2010 the Sturm College of Law will launch a cutting-edge series of courses entitled the "Sustainable Natural Resources Development Series," which will be taught by an exceptional group of internationally-recognized experts.

The "one of its kind" series (the courses, each three credits, can be taken individually or in sequence) will focus on the vexing -- yet fascinating in terms of potentially positive outcomes -- issues associated with the development of natural resources. Put simply, how can natural resources be developed in a manner that respects environmental and social concerns?

The courses will be held on this schedule:

• January 4-8: "Emerging International Framework for the Sustainable Development of Natural Resources"


• June 2-5: "National Legislation and Policy for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources"


• August 9-13: "Community Expectations for Sustainable Development in Natural Resources Projects"


• Fall Semester: "Experiential Capstone: Sustainable Natural Resources Development Practicum"

Recently I met with Luke Danielson, a world renown expert and one of the lead adjunct professors in the series, to talk about what sustainable natural resources development means and what will be covered in the three courses he will play a role in. By coincidence, Luke and I met in Leadville, Colorado, about 160 kilometers or 100 miles west of Denver in the central Colorado mountains. The site of the meeting was perhaps somewhat symbolic (although we did not think about this when setting the meeting) since Leadville was a major mining center in Colorado in the late 1800s and at one time was the largest city in Colorado. As such, Leadville has been through a series of up and downs, related to the market for minerals, while also experiencing its share of environmental and social challenges related to the natural resources industry. In the picture above, you will see Luke standing in front of the National Mining Hall of Fame Museum, which is located in Leadville.

This series of courses will be of interest to a wide range of students and professionals involved in various fields including (but not limited to) law, accounting, finance, mining, oil and gas, engineering, and human rights.

In an effort to more fully explain the rationale for the series as well as what each course will cover, Luke and I produced a series of videos as follows:

• My introduction to the series can be accessed by clicking here.


• Luke's overview of sustainable development in natural resources is available here.


• Luke's descriptions of the individual courses can be seen here: course one, course two, course three.

More information about course four, an experiential course that will be led by Prof. Ann Vessels, the director of DU's highly regarded externship program, will be available soon.

I would highly encourage anyone -- JD, LLM, MRLS or any other professionals or graduate students -- interested in these topics to seriously consider joining us in Denver for this series of courses. The first three courses will be offered in a "short-course format," that is to say one week of intense study. The fourth offering, the experiential course, will be offered in the fall 2010 semester.

A text overview of the series can be accessed by clicking here.

Please feel free to contact me at dcsmith@law.du.edu or graduate program Assistant Director Lucy Daberkow at ldaberkow@law.du.edu for more information on what promises to be an exceptional learning experience.