Mick Smyer to deliver 2018 Rezendes Ethics Lecture on April 4

Psychology professor and national expert on aging Mick Smyer will present the 2018 John M. Rezendes Visiting Scholar in Ethics Lecture at 4:30 p.m. April 4 in Nutting Hall, Room 100.

Smyer’s lecture is titled, “Living a Full, Ethical and Sustainable Life in the 21st Century: Lessons from Psychology, Ethics and Human-Centered Design.” A reception will be held at 4 p.m.

Smyer also will host a workshop before his lecture for anyone interested in taking action on climate change. “What’s the Next Step on Your Climate Journey?” will be offered at 2:30 p.m. on the fourth floor of Colvin Hall.

Smyer is the former provost of Bucknell University and is a senior fellow in social innovation at Babson College.

A national expert on aging, Smyer has written and lectured extensively. In addition to holding leadership roles in national organizations on aging, he has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, state and national legislative leaders, and higher education organizations on the impacts of aging.

Smyer is the founder of Graying Green: Climate Action for an Aging World, which works with older adults, climate communicators, climate scientists, and community and business leaders who view older people as potential leaders of climate action. With support from Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, Graying Green taps expertise in gerontology, climate communication and human-centered design.

The John M. Rezendes Visiting Scholar in Ethics Lecture was established by the University of Maine Honors College in 1999 to critically engage students, faculty and the community in ethical issues of national importance.

The lecture is part of the John M. Rezendes Ethics Initiative, a program established through a gift from Dennis and Beau Rezendes, which also includes the John M. Rezendes Ethics Essay Contest open to undergraduate students at UMaine.

Co-sponsors of this year’s lecture include the Honors College; UMaine departments of psychology, philosophy and mechanical engineering; Division of Lifelong Learning; Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions; Maine Center on Aging; Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and the Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center.

For more information or to request a disability accommodation, contact Deb Small, dsmall@maine.edu, 581.3263.