Speakers Series Established by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program: First Event Features Former Interior Asst. Secretaries on Sept. 15

The Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program (ENRLP) at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law has announced establishment of a "Speaker Series" that will feature leaders in the environmental and natural resources sectors.

The Speakers Series will kick off on Sept. 15, 2010, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in room 125 with remarks by two former Assistant Secretaries of the U.S. Interior Department, John A. Carver Jr. and Rebecca C. Watson.

Mr. Carver, an emeritus professor who taught at the College of Law from 1972 to 2005, and Ms. Watson, a DU law graduate and now a parter at the Denver-based firm of Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, will allow students to hear about two different periods in the history of the Interior Department.

Mr. Carver, who also served as Undersecretary of the Interior, worked in the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson. From 1966 to 1972 he was a member of the Federal Power Commission. Last year Mr. Carver and the ENRL collaborated on producing an oral history of his life. The oral history can be accessed by clicking here.

Ms. Watson served in the administration of President George W. Bush, where she worked with Interior Secretary Gale Norton, also a DU law graduate. Ms. Watson served as the Assistant General Counsel for Energy Policy in the George H. W. Bush Administration. She has been a partner and counsel in two Washington, D.C. law firms in addition to practicing in Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. Ms. Watson will be the Sturm College of Law Distinguished Natural Resources Practitioner in Residence in 2011.

Among other things Mr. Carver and Ms. Watson will reflect on the major issues they faced during their tenures at the Department of Interior and what lessons they took away from those experiences.

"The ENRLP is delighted to be hosting Mr. Carver and Ms. Watson," Don C. Smith, ENRLP director said. "Their insights about the Department of Interior will provide students with a great deal of context and insight into the department, how it operates, and how it has changed over time. To host two former assistant secretaries is a great honor for the Sturm College of Law, and I would encourage all students to learn from these two impressive individuals."