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Bates Farnham Award The Bates Farnham Award was passed down to the Princeton Class of 1994 by the Princeton Class of 1944. This Outstanding Achievement Award was presented at our 5th and 10th Reunions, and now, our 15th reunion. The Bates Farnham Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to a member of our class who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in his or her life or work. The class member awarded is someone who has shown exceptional leadership, and has made a positive impact upon society and/or their community.  Congratulations to the
recipient of the Bates Farnham Award for the Class of 1994's Fifteenth
Reunion, Corine Vriesendorp. While the rest of us sleep soundly in our air-conditioned rooms on comfortable mattresses, Corine sleeps in the jungle so that our children and our children’s children will inherit an earth that remains biologically diverse. Corine is a conservation ecologist who works for The Field Museum for the Environmental, Culture and Conservation (ECCo) Division as the director of the rapid biological and social inventories. Corine (and team) essentially gets dropped in remote places--often isolated corners of the Amazon-- where scientists have done little or no research. She braves the insects, the bats, the jaguars, the lack of toilets and so forth to catalogue the plants that exist there in order that these plants might be known to and protected for future generations. The information she generates is then used to prioritize areas that should be protected because of high biological diversity. While the rest of us “go green” by recycling or using cloth grocery bags, Corine has been directly involved in 21 rapid inventories in 5 countries that have led to 46,000 square miles of intact forests fully protected or on the road to protection. To insure that these biological diverse areas are slated for conservation, Corine works extensively with local and national stakeholders to insure that these areas are protected. Undoubtedly, her success is in part attributable to an amazing photographic memory that allows her to distinguish thousands of plants unappreciable to most eyes. But what really makes her successful is her magnanimous spirit and genuine smile that can convince even the most extreme ‘nonconservationists’ of the importance of saving these areas. Particularly in light of the Class of 1994's commitment to "Going Green for 15" at our 15th Reunion, we recognize Corine for this very important work. The Class of 1994 is proud to have Corine Vriesendorp as a member and a friend, and is delighted to honor her with the Bates Farnham Award for Outstanding Achievement. Congratulations, Corine. |
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