When Distinguished Professor Emeritus Gilbert F. White received an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder in May, one of his nominators described him as "probably the single most distinguished and internationally recognized faculty member" at CU-Boulder.
But his professional accomplishments weren't the only reason the author of a new biography about White was drawn to his life. Equally -- or even more important -- were White's contributions as a leader, a humanitarian, a citizen-scientist and "his legacy as a human being," said Robert Hinshaw.
White, 94, is renowned worldwide for his work in natural hazards and often called the "father of floodplain management." He changed the way people deal with nature and made the world a safer place for people to inhabit. His influence in the field is reflected in the book's title, "Living With Nature's Extreme's: The Life of Gilbert Fowler White."
Hinshaw, a former college president who chaired the CU-Denver anthropology department from 1982 to 1984, first met White in 1951. Hinshaw was then a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania where White was named president at the age of 34.
Hinshaw got to know the entire White family when he was hired to read to the oldest child, and has kept in touch throughout the years though he was never one of White's students.
His biggest surprise in writing the book, Hinshaw said, was the "realization that White has been such a 'servant leader.' "
His leadership style "begins with the assumption that to lead you have to listen," Hinshaw said. "He was unusually effective in getting to the nexus of an issue and taking care of what needed to be done. And that's because he listened so closely to everyone. He leads from below."
When White studied the Mississippi River Basin for the federal government as a graduate student in the late 1930s, many planners followed a flood-control policy based on the construction of dams. White questioned the impact of such projects and suggested alternatives that protected floodplain ecosystems, as well as humans at risk from flooding.
He served as president of Haverford College from 1946 until 1955, taught at the University of Chicago from 1956 to 1969 and joined the CU-Boulder faculty in 1970 as a professor of geography and director of the Institute of Behavioral Science. White founded CU's Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center in 1974, the nation's leading repository of knowledge on human behavior in disasters.
Since leaving the federal government in the 1930s, White never again had to apply for any position he held. And he never again worked for the federal government although he could easily have held positions of global importance, according to Hinshaw.
"He has refused to let himself be drawn into a government position that would force him to use a more formal decision-making process" and his personal beliefs were behind that decision, he said.
White chaired the American Friends Service Committee from 1963 to 1969 and his Quakerism is a vital part of his life, said Hinshaw, who also is a Quaker. White's leadership style is consistent with the Religious Society of Friends' traditional consensus-building process, he said.
That leadership style was highly effective in White's efforts to deal with contentious water issues in the Middle East from 1996 to 1999, and also in leading a task force that led to the establishment of the National Flood Insurance Program. He has made lasting contributions to the study of water systems in developing countries, global environmental change, international cooperation, nuclear winter and geography education.
White's numerous awards include the nation's highest scientific honor, the National Medal of Science; the National Geographic Society's highest award, the Hubbard Medal; the United Nation's Sasakawa International Environmental Prize; and the Association of American Geographer's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hinshaw began writing the book six years ago and it was published by Johnson Books of Boulder this summer. He lives in Kansas City, Mo., and owns a summer cabin in Allenspark. For more information on Hinshaw's book, visit the Web site at or call 1- (800) 258-5830.
More information on White is posted on the CU-Boulder Natural Hazards Center's Web site at .