Draft:John R. Rodman

John R. Rodman (January 14, 1933 – June 16, 2003) was an environmental ethicist. He focused on preserving indigenous vegetation on college campuses and is credited with playing a key role in the design and preservation of campus landscaping. Rodman earned his B.A in government and philosophy from Harvard College in 1954, with honors including Harvard National Scholar; Phi Beta Kappa; magna cum laude; and the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for his senior thesis. He earned his M.A, and Ph.D in political science from Harvard University, graduating in 1959.

After teaching at Harvard from 1961 to 1965, Rodman taught political studies in various roles at Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate School and in 1970 began teaching the newly established Environmental Studies at Pitzer, which he continued until his retirement in the spring of 2000.

In 1988, Rodman became the director of the Pitzer College Arboretum after the college approved his proposal to formally create the project. The movement began informally in 1984 to in order to preserve indigenous plant species on Pitzer's property from destruction by well-meaning academic developers. However, planting initially began in the 1960s and flourished in the 1970s when Pitzer's Environmental Studies program was established. The Arboretum is made up of sixteen gardens on ten acres of land. In 2000, it was renamed the John R. Rodman Arboretum. Pitzer has since established the John R. Rodman Arboretum Endowment Fund.

In addition to winning numerous academic grants and awards, Rodman was on the editorial advisory board of Environmental Ethics from 1979 to 1985 and was the environment editor of North American Review from 1987 to 1989. His published works range from reports on local ecological issues to essays on ecology and political theory in journals such as American Political Science Association and Western Political Quarterly.

Category:Pitzer College faculty Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Environmental ethicists Category:Political scientists