Dempsey Lecture Series
Each year, Willamette University hosts a Dempsey Lecture Series focused on a variety of topics and conversations. Learn more about the series and next speakers.
Dempsey Environmental Lecture
Michelle Nijhuis
Monday, April 27, 2026, 7:30 p.m.
Willamette University, Cat Cavern
Putnam University Center
The Most Important Conservationist You Have Never Heard Of
Michelle Nijhuis is the author of the book Beloved Beast: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction (W. W. Norton, 2021), a history of the modern conservation movement that was named one of the best books of 2021. Nijhuis is a regular contributor to The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and National Geographic.
Sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation and the Willamette University Department of Environmental Science.
The lecture is free and open to the public.