 Ruth Lofgren, 91, was born in 1916 in Utah. A member of a prominent Mormon family, she was the oldest of five children, raised on a ranch in a suburb of Salt Lake City, where she first developed her love of the natural world.Dr. Lofgren received both BA and MA degrees in microbiology at the University of Utah, went on to receive her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and soon after joined the faculty. In 1951 the chairman of her department died suddenly. His successor urged the faculty to work on bacterial warfare research. By then a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and morally opposed to war, Dr. Lofgren held on until the two doctoral students she was advising graduated then, in 1953, resigned her position. She moved to New York City where she developed science education programs and was one of the first practitioners of a new field known as "ecology." In 1976, when the City of New York went bankrupt, she took an early retirement and moved to San Antonio where she taught science enrichment in a Quaker school for emotionally disturbed children. When the school closed, she became involved with the League of Women Voters serving as Water Chair. Dr. Lofgren developed the Wetlands Project at Mitchell Lake and was appointed to the Waste Water Advisory committee on City Council, helping move the management of Mitchell Lake to the National Audubon Society. Always connected to the natural world, Dr. Lofgren prioritized her life around issues of the environment but is now focusing on issues of consciousness and one's inner life, raising questions of how we as humans can be our best selves amidst "the social disease of exploitation" that seems to be threatening this planet and all living beings. She has traveled extensively throughout the world considering all people and cultures to be of the same family and taking the opportunities for travel to understand the human family, the habitats, and natural world. From plants to people, Ruth is committed to peace and the betterment of this world. The transcript of a 2-hour long interview with Ruth Lofgren conducted by the Conservation History Association of Texas in 2006 can be found online,
| Download a packet about the Peace Laureate. The word laureate is derived from the Latin laureatus, from laurea laurel tree, from laureus of laurel, from laurus laurel. The laurel, in ancient Greece, was sacred to Apollo, and was used to form a crown or wreath of honor for poets and heroes. Laureate has come to mean a person worthy of great honor and recognition. To the best of our knowledge, although several cities honor poet laureates, San Antonio is the first city in the world to honor a peace laureate. |
1443 S. St. Mary's, San Antonio, Tx 78210 www.salsa.net/peace 210.224.HOPE | |