Contact: Public Relations
(863) 680-4118

Nationally known environmental writer 
to appear at Florida Southern College

LAKELAND, Fla. (Jan. 2, 2003) - Florida Southern College will host environmental writer Deborah Cramer, who will discuss her book, "Great Waters," on Jan. 16 in the Hollis Seminar Room at 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the college's humanities division, biology department, and dean's office in conjunction with Consilience, a campus discussion group.

"Great Waters," Cramer's natural history of the Atlantic Ocean, has been published in both the United States and Great Britain. Cramer will discuss the book and the issues it raises to audiences ranging from inner city 7th graders to college students to graduate students and faculty in oceanography. She has lectured for science and maritime museums, environmental organizations, and national teachers' conferences. "Great Waters" has influenced the redesign of the Halls of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History; National Park Service education programs; and biology, geology, ecology and literature courses at colleges and universities. Because of Cramer's literary style and clarity in explaining complex concepts, "Great Waters" has received exceptional reviews from the Times of London, the New York Times Book Review, The Boston Globe, Choice, and other newspapers and magazines, and has been compared to the sea books of Rachel Carson. 

In addition to "Great Waters," Cramer's articles on science, nature, and the environment have appeared in periodicals including The New York Times and The Atlantic Monthly. One of her articles inspired a former Massachusetts Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish the Massachusetts Groundfish Task Force. She served on this committee, which laid the groundwork resulting in major protections for the Georges Bank cod fishery.

Deborah Cramer holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and master's degrees from Middlebury College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

For additional information, please contact Dr. Bernard Quetchenbach in the English Department at 863-680-4221 or at bquetchenbach@flsouthern.edu.

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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