Panayotou is first Sawhill Lecturer

Theo Panayotou, an environmental adviser to the Smithsonian, World Bank, and the United Nations Development Program, has been named the first John Sawhill Lecturer in Environmental Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Dean Joseph S. Nye Jr. announced earlier this month.

Panayotou teaches environmental and resource economics at the department of economics and the Kennedy School of Government. In addition to his teaching, Panayotou has served as an adviser on environmental economics to governments in Central America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He is also an Institute Fellow and director of the International Environment Program at Harvard’s Center for International Development.

“Theo’s wealth of experience as an adviser on environmental projects and his demonstrated commitment and extensive scholarly research in the area of environmental economics make him the ideal holder of the John Sawhill Lectureship,” said Nye.

John Sawhill, who died in May, was president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy. The group preserves and protects the environment from development through the acquisition of land and water. During Sawhill’s tenure, the Nature Conservancy grew into the world’s largest private conservation group and the nation’s 14th largest nonprofit institution.

“John Sawhill was a great leader in the public, private, and nonprofit worlds, and an untiring friend of the Kennedy School. We are proud to commemorate his contributions with the John Sawhill Lectureship in Environmental Policy,” said Nye.