Ruffalo Leaves His Mark

Mark Ruffalo engages the Dickinson College campus by doing a live interview with Professor Amy Farrell (right) and guest-starring in several classes, covering a range of disciplines (below).

Actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo visited Dickinson on Oct. 5 and 6 for a residency that included class visits, small gatherings with students, faculty and staff and a keynote lecture, “An Evening with Mark Ruffalo,” held in ATS at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5.

Ruffalo’s residency is part of his role as the fourth recipient of the Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism. Ruffalo is co-founder of both Water Defense, which focuses on energy extraction’s effect on water, and the Solutions Project, which promotes public awareness of new opportunities and discoveries in the science of renewable energy.

“A Night with Mark Ruffalo” began with a welcome from President Nancy Roseman and an introduction from Zev Greenberg ’16. The audience of 870 students, faculty and staff then welcomed Ruffalo to the stage, where he was interviewed by Dr. Amy Farrell, executive director of the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues.

Farrell asked about his journey to activism, which began when he moved to a small town affected by water pollution due to energy extraction. Ruffalo emphasized the importance of passion when fighting against powerful opponents.

“Love is what sustains you through discomfort,” Ruffalo said.  Ruffalo also discussed future projects, the next presidential election and the energy talks to be held in Paris later this year. Ruffalo asked Scott Smith, the Water Defense chief scientist, to join him on stage and briefly describe the organization’s operations. Neil Leary, director of the Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), also posed questions that were gathered from the audience and social media before the lecture. Ruffalo left the auditorium to a standing ovation.

Leary reacted favorably to the lecture.

“[Ruffalo] connected extraordinarily well with the audience here,” Leary said. “I think we’ll see some steep reactions to what they heard this evening.”

Students leaving the talk indicated his prediction was accurate.

“I like that he talked a lot about how it starts at the bottom,” said Olivia Termini ’19. “We can do something about it. It is up to our generation.”

Ivy Gilbert ’18 had similar parting words.

“I feel utterly inspired, and I want to bring back Reinvest Dickinson with a passion equivalent to that of Ruffalo’s,” Gilbert said.

In addition to his address,  Ruffalo visited two classes on Monday, Oct. 5: Theatre as a Social Exploration with Professor of Theatre Todd Wronski and American Nature Writing: Environment, Culture and Values with Professor of English and Environmental Studies Ashton Nichols.
“I had a chance to meet Mark when he was here for Commencement 2015, and it was clear that he knows a great deal about the environment, about fracking and about the protection of waterways in Pennsylvania and the Northeastern United States,” said Nichols, speaking before Ruffalo’s visit. Nichols said that he required students to watch videos of Ruffalo speaking about his activism and prepare one question to ask him during his class visit.

Ruffalo also participated in discussions with CSE Interns and the Aquatic Resource Monitoring Student Staff (ALLARM) on Monday.

Ruffalo’s “story has challenged me to welcome more fear and more discomfort into my life in order to fuel active participation in change,” said Marina Morton ’18, a CSE intern. “I am passionate about an issue and now feel more empowered to activate change with a deeper understanding of the process of change on both the micro and macro levels.”

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Ruffalo’s day began at the Center for Sustainable Living, where residents prepared him breakfast. Ruffalo then visited the Analysis and Management of Aquatic Environments Class with Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Kristin Strock and the Environmental Policy Class taught by Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Heather Bedi. Ruffalo attended a roundtable lunch with 15 student leaders selected to represent “Dickinson’s Diverse Engagement in Sustainability.” The last classroom visit was to Assistant Professor of Political Science Kathleen Marchetti’s Advocacy Organizations, Social Movements and the Politics of Identity class.

Speaking on Tuesday morning, Roseman said that Ruffalo was “an inspiring and passionate advocate for humanity” who could inspire young activists.

“[Ruffalo] has brilliantly leveraged his platform as an actor in order to educate and to gain access to people who can make a difference,” Roseman said. “Part of his message is that all of us can make a difference, that all of us have a voice.”

Assistant Director of the CSE Lindsey Lyons said, “The residency that accompanies the Rose-Walters Prize for Global Environmental Activism allows students, faculty and staff the opportunity to engage with prize recipients in small group discussions, classes, meals and a public event. The opportunities provided allow students to ask questions of people that have created positive change through environmental activism.”

According to the CSE website, the Rose-Walters Prize was founded by Sam Rose ’58 and Julie Walters to increase awareness of human impact on the environment and the need to address it. Rose ’58 also established the Samuel G. Rose ’58 Scholarship in 2001 and is an emeritus trustee of the college. Both he and Walters are supporters of the Natural Resources Defense Council and endowed this sustainability award to its co-founder, John H. Adams.