PULLMAN, Wash. — L. W. “Bill” Lane Jr. and Jean Lane have donated $150,000 to Washington State University to endow the Lane Family Lectureship in Environmental Sciences. According to the Lanes, the lectureship is an expression of their commitment to helping society “recognize and solve problems related to the environment.”
The lectureship was created in 1992 and funded by annual gifts from the Lanes. The first lecture was delivered in 1993 by William K. Reilly, former Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Subsequent lectures were given by Earth Day founder Denis Hayes, environmental lawyer Ann L. Strong, and zero population growth advocate Paul Ehrlich. Tropical rain forest advocate Mark Plotkin will deliver the 1997 address Oct. 2 on the Pullman campus.
Bill Lane is former co-chairman of Lane Publishing Co. and publisher of SUNSET Magazine. Formerly, he served as U. S. ambassador to Australia and Nauru and ambassador-at-large in Japan. He was chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Centennial of National Parks, a member of the Board of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and many other corporate, government, environmental and educational boards and committees. Jean serves on the boards of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the National Tropical Botanical Garden and was a docent for the Stanford University Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. She is a member of the National Advisory Board of Filoli Center, a trust that preserves historic properties.
The Lanes, who are residents of the San Francisco area, made the gift through the Peninsula Community Foundation. In addition to the lectureship, the Lanes and their son Robert, a 1983 WSU graduate, and his wife Wendi have created fellowships for WSU environmental sciences students.
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