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Topics
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Daniel
Kemmis
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Daniel Kemmis is
widely regarded as the Mountain West’s leading
contemporary thinker and writer on topics of community,
regionalism and human society. He has also received
such national recognition as the Charles Frankel
Prize, awarded to him by President Clinton in 1997
for his outstanding contributions to the humanities.
Kemmis’ world
view has been forged, however, in the real world
of politics. He served in the Montana Legislature,
rising to be House Speaker, and subsequently as
the Mayor of Missoula. Since September 1996, he has served on the staff of the University of Montana’s Center for the Rocky Mountain West, first as its Director and now as a Senior Fellow. He also serves on the board of directors of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, the Northwest Area Foundation, and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency.
Kemmis has written three books: Community and the Politics of Place, The Good City and the Good Life, and This Sovereign Land: A New Vision for Governing the West. In 2002, This Sovereign Land was the top choice for the Interior Department's Executive Forum Speaker Series. His numerous articles in national magazines and journals cover topics ranging from community building to Western politics.
Awarded the Wallace Stegner Prize for sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West, Kemmis is a popular lecturer and teacher, speaking frequently on livable communities, city design, regional environmental cooperation and the future of public land management. |
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Speech Topics
Community —
The places we inhabit reflect and affect who
we are. How do those dynamics play themselves out
in real places, among real people? How can we create
sustainable, livable places for ourselves, where
we can live in genuine community with each other?
Regionalism —
The earliest European explorers in North America
advised that human communities should settle along
the natural lines of rivers, valleys, watersheds.
We now recognize these lines make the most sense
economically and ecologically, too. What are the
regions emerging in North America, and how can communities
best ready themselves to take advantage of new,
regionally-based, economic opportunities?
Devolution and
Decentralization — Power is being moved
down from the national to state and sometimes local
governments. But are existing jurisdictions the
best recipients of that devolution - or should we
be creating more organic regions, sometimes larger
than states, sometimes smaller, to take on the challenges
of governance in the 21st century?
The West —
The western US has long been treated, and thought
of itself, as a colony of the east. How can the
West best prepare itself for the many changes coming
its way, including growth in population, economic
development, and changes in natural resource management?
Are there uniquely western dynamics between city
and countryside? And how does the emergence of regional
thinking apply specifically to the West?
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Recent
Speeches
September 2006 -- Has the West Been Overlooked by Presidential Candidates?” Western States Primary Symposium, Center for Public Policy and Administration, University of Utah, Panelist – Salt Lake City, Utah
September 2006 -- “Neighboring, and the Difference It Makes,” 2006 Annual Conference, Philanthropy Northwest, Keynote Speaker – Big Sky, Mont.
April 2006 -- “A New Vision for Governing the Rockies,” State of the Rockies Conference, Colorado College, Speaker – Colorado Springs, Colo.
March 2006 -- "The Role of Landscape Architecture in the Emerging West," Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, Speaker – Pullman, Wash.
January 2005 -- “Is it Time to Convene a Western Congress?”, Half Public, Half Private, One West: Innovation and Opportunity Across Boundaries, The Quivira Coalition’s 4th Annual Conference, Speaker – Albuquerque, N.M.
Oct 2004 -- “Learning to Think and Act Regionally,” Oregon Chapter of theAmerican Planning Association, Keynote Speaker – Portland, Oregon
Last updated January
3, 2007
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