WCSU to Honor Dr. Jane Goodall at Public Event on Nov. 12

Press release

DANBURY, Connecticut — Western Connecticut State University will honor the legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall this month at an event entitled “Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall: Her Vision, Her Voice, Our Future.” It will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Room 125 and in the Atrium of the Science Building on the university’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury.

Goodall has been a frequent visitor to the university since the April 1995 establishment of The Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Education at WCSU, which brings together Western Connecticut State University and the Jane Goodall Institute — a global nonprofit devoted to wildlife research, education, and conservation. This 30-year partnership inspires learning, stewardship, and action toward a more sustainable future.

Building on this collaboration, the Center advances environmental understanding through programs rooted in respect, curiosity, and integrity. By combining the global leadership of the Jane Goodall Institute with WCSU’s strengths in the arts, sciences, and research, the Center creates meaningful opportunities for learning, discovery, and real-world impact.

The Jane Goodall Center for Environmental Excellence also fosters service-learning projects for students throughout the community by reaching out to help with after-school programs, animal shelters, environmental organizations and causes, nursing homes and food pantries.

In 2005, WCSU was established as a National Center for University Roots & Shoots by the Jane Goodall Institute, the first of its kind in the U.S. From 2005-12, the Roots & Shoots office at WCSU served as a regional and national office of excellence in training university students, faculty and administrators to develop programs for K-12 and college students in local, regional and global conservation.

The international headquarters for Roots & Shoots is now located at JGI headquarters in Washington, D.C. Continuing support from the university has allowed WCSU to maintain a very active group. Animal Week, International Peace Day and Earth Day are yearly campus events and WCSU’s Roots & Shoots students attend leadership and educational conferences annually.

Goodall’s last in-person visit to campus was a decade ago, on Sept. 19, 2015, when she came to the university to see old friends, meet her admirers, celebrate her book, “Sowing the Seeds of Hope,” and speak to a sold-out audience about her life, climate change, her work with chimpanzees and the future of our planet.

Following her public talk, Goodall joined a contingent of ticket holders who attended the dedication ceremony for The Jane Goodall Permaculture Garden. It was followed by an intimate reception in the Science Building on the WCSU Midtown campus. During this gathering, she led a Q&A session with guests who enjoyed a special menu prepared with selections that incorporated produce from the garden. The Permaculture Garden that bears her name still flourishes more than 10 years after its groundbreaking, and is lovingly tended to by faculty, staff and students. She made a virtual visit in March 2022 with her talk, “Virtual Jane: Hope Through Action.”

The Nov. 12 event to honor Goodall will feature past and present campus stewards of her work, including Jane Goodall Center Chair and Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Hannah Reynolds, Professor Emeritus of Biology Dr. Howard Russock on the Formation of the WCSU Jane Goodall Center, Former Jane Goodall Center Director Dr. Rick Asselta, and Professor Emerita of Social Sciences Dr. Laurie Weinstein on the Establishment of the Permaculture Garden (joining remotely). The evening also will feature welcoming remarks from WCSU President Dr. Jesse M. Bernal; a video of Dr. Goodall during previous campus visits; and “The Woman in Green,” a play by WCSU student Summer Wilmot.

According to the Jane Goodall Center website, “Goodall and her life of advocacy, education, and research on behalf of our natural world inspires us in all our actions. We remember her with gratitude and appreciation.”