Bina Venkataraman encourages community to look ahead and work together during visit to Wooster

Bina Venkataraman urged the Wooster community to look towards the future and use their abilities for positive social change as she delivered The College of Wooster’s annual Peter Mortensen lecture Sept. 5. 

Venkataraman, a journalist, author, and science policy expert who works largely with climate policy, came to the College to discuss her book The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age. This book, which tackles the problem of instant gratification and how failing to look toward the future has impacted humanity, was chosen as the summer reading book for the class of 2027. Moderating this discussion was Asad Khan ’93, CEO of Kent Displays, a global leader in liquid crystal display technology and adjunct professor of chemical physics at the Advanced Materials & Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University, with questions submitted by students in first-year seminar courses.  

For Venkataraman, being chosen as a speaker for the Mortensen Lecture had personal significance. Growing up in Wooster as the daughter of professor emerita of physics Shila Garg, she distinctly remembers attending events like the Mortensen Lecture and being in awe of the authors. “It’s very special to be up here. But I also feel that I’m still sitting in the crowd amongst you as well because I still feel like that little girl.” Venkataraman said.   

Much of Venkataraman’s talk focused on the idea of optimism, which she defines not as simply hoping the world will change for the better but actively taking steps to improve it. During her time working on climate policy in the Obama administration, Venkataraman realized that many people cared about the science behind climate change but weren’t sure how to use that information to plan for the future. So, she began to research times in history that people have successfully prepared for the future. 

“We think about the future as secondary, and we prioritize what’s here now,” she explained. “I wanted to do better in my own life and make more people think ahead so that we could be thought of as better ancestors. I wanted people to look back on us and think, ‘They really did a lot to think about us and the future.’” 

Recognizing that improving the future of the species requires immense amounts of cooperation, Venkataraman also talked about how individuals can use their unique gifts in collaboration with others to bring about social change. Although people can feel discouraged by the sheer difficulty of creating society-wide change, working together allows people to feel more confident in their ability to create change.  

“I think of myself as an optimist in the sense that I believe that it’s possible to change the future if we make decisions and act together,” she explained. “If you act in concert with other people and try to influence people, and you don’t just do it yourself, you begin to create a sense of agency to change things. And that to me, is the only choice really.” 

Venkataraman’s visit was made possible by The Peter Mortensen Endowed Lecture Fund, established in 2006 with a gift from Peter Mortensen ’56, with gratitude for the contribution of The College of Wooster to the success and happiness of four generations of the Mortensen family. Income from the fund is used to support one or more public lectures or performances related to the First-Year Seminar or for similar purposes directly related to the academic programs. 

Posted in Event on September 8, 2023.