Unity, Maine – April 2, 2012 –  World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick will be visiting Unity College, America’s Environmental College, on April 6.

The visit will be his first and include a luncheon and an informal fireside chat with Unity College students in Quimby Library.

Through his brother, William, Chair of the Unity College Board of Trustees, Robert developed an understanding of Unity College’s mission, initiatives, and commitment to becoming one of the finest environmental colleges in the United States, focusing in recent years on sustainability for the 21st century.

In turn, Unity learned of Robert Zoellick’s longstanding commitment to public service and particularly the promotion of economic approaches that have helped the developing world achieve stability and economic security, which inevitably leads to the proper conservation of resources and sustainable approaches to natural resources. President George W. Bush nominated Zoellick on May 30, 2007 as President of the World Bank Group. On June 25, 2007, Zoellick was approved by the World Bank Group’s executive board.

Zoellick was born in Naperville, Illinois. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1975 from Swarthmore College as a history major, and received his JD from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1981.

In recent years the issue of global climate change has come to the forefront of the values and focus of the College.  Under the leadership of President Stephen Mulkey, a scientist with an international reputation for research and scholarship, the College is strengthening its focus. Curricular majors and programs across the curriculum will focus on the emerging field of Sustainability Science, which probes interactions between global, social and human systems, the complex mechanisms that lead to the degradation of these systems, and concomitant risks to human well-being. He has made educating professionals that mitigate global climate change a unifying focus.

In 2011, Unity College was named to the top 30 of the Washington Monthly college rankings, and was one of eighteen U.S. colleges and universities named to The Princeton Review’s 2010 Green Rating Honor Roll.

Unity College is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources. Unity College graduates are prepared to be environmental stewards, effective leaders, and responsible citizens through active learning experiences within a supportive community.