COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Limited Brands, Inc. is making it possible for 23 students from historically black colleges and universities to attend EcoSummit 2012, the eco-sustainability conference that will be held next week in Columbus, Ohio.
The donation will fund the attendance of students from four colleges: Bluefield State College, Claflin University, Miles College and Spelman College.
Limited Brands' Associate Vice President of Community Relations & Philanthropy, Janelle Simmons said, "As citizens of a global society, we all play a part in each other's future. It's important to give students who are tomorrow's leaders the opportunity to learn from experts about what we can do to ensure we have a healthy planet."
Berkley King is an instructor in the Division of Natural Sciences & Mathematics at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama, which will be sending six students to EcoSummit 2012.
King said, "This will encourage them to think outside the box and to contribute to the overall success of a sustainable world. It will benefit both the students and the profession."
The students will join more than 1,500 ecologists, academicians and policy makers attending EcoSummit 2012, the first EcoSummit to be held in the United States. Delegates will hear from some of the leading minds regarding sustainability including Harvard's E.O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond and Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute.
"These students understand the interconnected nature of our ecosystems," said Bernice Cage, who is the Public Information and Diversity Manager for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), one of the sponsors of EcoSummit 2012. Cage said "The world is diverse, our population is diverse and so its important for a diverse student population to be part of the sustainability conversation. They bring value to the global marketplace."
Natalie Coles, the Area Development Director at the United Negro College Fund in Columbus, helped recruit students for the EcoSummit scholarships. She said, "The opportunity that these United Negro College Fund scholars will have by attending Ecosummit will be life changing and truly impact their careers. I am delighted both Limited Brands and MORPC recognize the value of educating minority students and are willing to invest in them!"
EcoSummit 2012 will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center from September 30 to October 5, 2012. It will explore how innovative, science-based strategies can be used in socially- and culturally-acceptable ways to create, manage, and restore ecosystems. Nearly 2,000 academic papers have been submitted for review for the conference. In addition to symposia and panel discussions, conference participants will be encouraged to take field trips to see first-hand projects dedicated to restoring earth's ecological diversity.
The Ohio State University, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the City of Columbus will host EcoSummit 2012. This is the fourth time EcoSummit has convened. The first conference, in Copenhagen, Denmark, was held in 1996, the second in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in 2000 and the most recent was in Beijing, China in 2007.
For more information about EcoSummit 2012 visit www.ecosummit2012.org
Amanda Wurst
Tel: 614-224-8114
Email: awurst@paulwerth.com
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