Seaver College to Host Three W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series Events This Spring

Seaver College’s W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series will host three events throughout the months of March and April. Each of the talks will address aspects of climate change and sustainability, providing attendees with insights on evolving environmental concerns. 

 A snapshot of the individual lectures follows:

Debra Rienstra
“Refugia: Communal Vocation in a Climate-Changed World”
Wednesday, March 12 • Elkins Auditorium • 5 PM

Debra Rienstra is professor of English at Calvin University, where she has taught since 1996, specializing in creative nonfiction, early British literature, and environmental literature. Her most recent book, Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth,  combines theology, nature writing, and biological principles to consider how Christians might best adapt their faith and practice for a climate-altered planet. 

In connection with her work on faith and climate change, Rienstra speaks frequently to church and faith groups, hosts the Refugia podcast, and writes the Refugia Newsletter on Substack. Her essays also appear fortnightly at the Reformed Journal, in which she writes about spirituality, pop culture, the church, the arts, higher education, and more. Rienstra is the author of three previous books—on motherhood, Christian spirituality, and worship—as well as numerous academic essays, literary essays, and poems.

Helen  Holmlund and Stephen Davis
"Chaparral: Our Best Friend Before and After Wildfire"
Monday, March 24  • Surfboard Room • Noon
Light refreshments will be served

Stephen Davis, Distinguished Professor of biology, and Helen Holmlund, assistant professor of biology, are two esteemed faculty members at Pepperdine University’s Seaver College. Both Davis and Holmlund are notable scholars of Southern California’s native vegetation. 

In their pop-up lecture, the two professors will discuss their research on drought and fire in the chaparral shrublands of Southern California. The insights shared at this event will provide context for the recent blazes that ravaged Los Angeles and Pepperdine’s own Malibu community. 

Bill Weir (’90)
“Life As We Know It (Can Be); Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World”
Thursday April 3 • Elkins Auditorium •  5 PM
Hosted by Climate Calling in collaboration with W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series

Bill Weir is a veteran anchor, writer, producer, and host currently serving as the chief climate correspondent for CNN. Throughout his career, Weir has distinguished himself as an Emmy Award– winning journalist with a distinctive, character-centric storytelling style.

Weir has reported from all 50 states and more than 50 countries, covering breaking news and uncovering global trends. He was among the first reporters into the floodwaters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and Japan’s tsunami zone during the nuclear crisis of 2011. He dodged Taliban bullets in Afghanistan, led network coverage from Iraq, and was the first American to broadcast live from Tibet. As a writer and anchor, Weir produced several special hours for CNN and ABC prime time on topics ranging from religion, brain science, and Woodstock to the business of mail-order brides and the rise and fall of General Motors.

Life As We Know It  (Can Be) was published in April 2024 and tells the story of global communities thriving in the wake of climate change.