The trip is important to her because it’s crucial that the U.S. delegation represent a diverse viewpoint, Dr. Malveaux said.

“When you look at environmental issues, you don’t always look at African Americans as being integrally involved, but they are,” she said. “But environmental issues are closely intertwined with issues of economic justice. All these issues have to do with who makes a mess, who cleans it up and who pays for it.”

Dr. Malveaux, an economist by training, said she would also be keeping an eye on how the interests of developing nations are represented.

“We’ve done a poor job managing the planet,” she added. “The United States uses more than its share of the world’s resources and developing countries, notably in Africa, use less than their share. The challenge for the West us what are we willing to give up.”

The trip also ties into Dr. Malveaux’s efforts to foster a more global outlook in the school’s curriculum. In fact, she is taking along a student with her so that the student can get an exposure to climate change issues and use that as a basis for scholarly work, Dr. Malveaux said. The student is Hershelle Naomi Gaffney, a sophomore from Elk Grove, CA majoring in Business Administration. She was selected because she has an interest in Environmental Justice and because she “represents Bennett College as an Ideal Belle,” according to administrators. Gaffney was elected to the position of Parliamentarian of the Student Government Association (SGA) during her Freshwoman year, is a member of the Golf Club and has a 3.58 GPA.

“I am extremely thankful for being selected to travel to Copenhagen as a student from Bennett College for Women,” Gaffney said. “I have always known that climate justice was an issue, but now I am given the chance to witness first-hand the effects of climate injustice and what we as people need to do in order to make things right. I am excited to learn as much as I can so that we, the Bennett community, can begin working to do our part in preserving the earth.”

Dr. Malveaux has put special emphasis on global studies since she took the top job At Bennett College in 2007. The school has added courses in the study of Russian, Swahili and Turkish culture and language, and administrators have adopted a goal of half of its students studying abroad by 2012.

Dr. Malveaux is travelling to Copenhagen as a member of the Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies The center, the leading research and public policy institution focusing on issues of concern to African Americans and other people of color, has been granted Civil Society Observer Status for the conference.

The Joint Center’s commission seeks to ensure that the concerns of minority communities are represented in the debate over climate change mitigation initiatives. The delegation will be led by Carolyn L. Green, Managing Partner, EnerGreen Capital Management, LLC based in Philadelphia. The delegation will also include Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Clark Atlanta University; Leslie G. Fields, Esq., Sierra Club; Frank M. Stewart, American Association of Blacks in Energy; and Dr. Beverly Wright, Dillard University.

Bennett College for Women, located in Greensboro, NC, is a small, private, historically black institution affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Bennett offers a liberal arts education conducive to excellence in scholarly pursuits; preparation for leadership roles in the workplace, society, and the world; and lifelong learning in a technologically advanced, complex global society. For more information, visit www.bennett.edu.