For 18 years ornithologist Sidney Dillon Ripley served as zoology professor at Yale and bird curator at the Peabody Museum, where he also served as director. For the energetic Ripley, his administrative work was chief among myriad achievements as a scientist, nature conservationist, teacher, humanist, museum activist, international affairs practitioner, gifted fundraiser, and waterfowl breeder. Ripley set standards and goals for cultural and scientific institutions that current leaders and observers, half a century later, continue to admire. Stone’s talk summarizes this gifted leader’s accomplishments and vivid adventures, and underscores the importance of his charmed life and multiple skills.
ROGER D. STONE is a former correspondent and bureau chief for Time magazine, former president of the Center for Inter-American Relations, director and president of the Sustainable Development Institute, and a board member of the World Wildlife Fund, where he served with Dillon Ripley. He is the author of six previous books. He lives in Washington, DC.