Media gallery

Woodrow Wilson Fellows in Residence

Christine Todd Whitman
former Governor of New Jersey and EPA Head
March 1 – 3, 2010

Public Address: “Environmental Policy: Where We are and Where We’re Going”
Younts Conference Center at Furman
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Under Governor Whitman’s leadership, the New Jersey shore was transformed from one littered with hypodermic needles back to the beautiful natural resource it had always been. This was the first of many successes she has had as she has worked tirelessly to ensure clean air, water, and energy during a period of vigorous economic growth. As a Woodrow Wilson Fellow-in-Residence, Governor Whitman shared her experiences as governor, EPA Head, and other leadership roles she has assumed since leaving office.

Governor Whitman participated in a roundtable discussion on “Sustainability across the Sectors” moderated by Andrew Revkin, former environmental reporter for the New York Times, with leaders from around the nation.

Highlights of her visit to Furman:

  • Public address on “Environmental Policy: Where We are and Where We’re Going” to a packed audience at Younts Conference Center at Furman on Tuesday, March 2nd
  • Guest speaker in nine different classes on public policy, economics, environmental science, and conservation
  • Breakfasts and lunches with groups of three to four Furman students
  • Conversation with students from the Shi Center of Sustainability
  • Participation in a student run forum on the future of the Republican party
  • Dinner with Furman’s Hollingsworth and Townes scholars and spoke to them about “What South Carolinians should look for in Choosing their next Governor”
  • Participation in a roundtable discussion on “Sustainability across the Sectors” moderated by Andrew Revkin, former environmental reporter for the New York Times, with leaders from around the nation

Press Coverage

The Greenville News 

About Governor Whitman

Whitman served two terms as the first woman governor of New Jersey from 1994-2001 and in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as EPA administrator from 2001-03. As governor, she worked to preserve more New Jersey land as permanent green space and to institute a comprehensive beach monitoring system. While she ran the EPA, the agency established the first federal program to promote the redevelopment and reuse of brownfields or previously contaminated industrial sites.

A moderate Republican, Whitman clashed with the Bush administration over climate change issues and air pollution controls and ultimately resigned from the EPA. Her book, It’s My Party, Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America, was published in 2005. As co-chair of the Republican Leadership Council, which Whitman founded with former U.N. ambassador and U.S. Sen. John Danforth, she supports fiscally conservative and socially tolerant candidates.

Whitman is president of The Whitman Strategy Group, a consulting firm specializing in energy and environmental issues.