March 16, 2004 — FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
RSVP requested by Mon. March 22 by calling Myrna at (801) 581-8767 or e-mailing her at myrna@mines.utah.edu
Who: Jack N. Gerard, president and CEO, National Mining Association, Washington, DC
When: Thursday March 25, 2004. Reception 6:30 p.m., lecture 7:30 p.m.
Where: 102 Engineering & Mines Classroom Building, University of Utah
NOTE TO NEWS MEDIA: Regretfully, Gerard has notified us he will not be available for interviews the day of his lecture.
Abstract of lecture: Mineral and coal mining provide the foundation for US industrial competitiveness and economic growth. Minerals are vital raw materials for American industry, just as the nation’s unsurpassed coal reserves supply fuel for more than half of the electricity used to power our economy. But changes are needed in public policy for optimizing the effectiveness of the nation’s mining industry. Regulations governing surface mining operations and air emissions from power plants must balance environmental with economic considerations. Federal policies should encourage investments in new clean coal technologies and mineral exploration. Such reforms will ensure that a sustainable mining industry can continue to make vital economic contributions that are fully compatible with the protection of human health and the environment.
Gerard’s presentation is the Willson Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the University of Utah College of Mines and Earth Sciences
Biographic information:
Jack N. Gerard was elected president and chief executive officer of the National Mining Association (NMA) in December 2000, following a successful career in private business and on Capitol Hill.
Gerard’s most important objective since joining NMA has been to focus the organization’s human and financial resources on the key priorities of its membership. Consistent with that objective, Gerard has accomplished a major reorganization of NMA’s committee structure and staff – streamlining operations, developing core competencies, modernizing the association’s communications capabilities and building a grassroots organization.
Prior to joining NMA, Gerard was a founding partner and chairman and chief executive officer of McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based government relations consulting firm, where Gerard and his partner, former U.S. Senator James McClure focused on a variety of issues including mining and energy. Prior to this, Gerard spent close to a decade working in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.
He serves on a number of boards including the National Capital Area Council – Boy Scouts of America Executive Board; the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management’s Council on American Politics; the Mineral Information Institute and Chairs the National Energy Foundation’s Board of Directors.
A graduate of George Washington University, Washington, D.C., where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Juris Doctorate degree, Gerard and his wife, Claudette, reside in Virginia with their six children.