Richard M. Clugston, Ph.D. is the Co-Director of the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future. He serves on the Earth Charter International Council, and continues to conduct “Spirituality and Sustainability” conferences and retreats in Rome and Assisi, Italy. He formerly directed the Sustainability and Global Affairs program at the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, where he helped religious and spiritual organizations engage in the United Nations’ sustainable development efforts, in collaboration with Forum 21. From 2009 to 2012, Rick directed the Earth Charter Project at the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education at Florida Gulf Coast University.
From 1989 to 2009, Rick served as Executive Director of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment in Washington, DC, where he directed Earth Charter USA and was Publisher and Editor of Earth Ethics: Evolving Values for an Earth Community.
Prior to coming to Washington, Rick worked at the University of Minnesota as a faculty member in the College of Human Ecology, and later as a strategic planner in Academic Affairs, Continuing Education and the Office of the President. He received his doctorate in Higher Education Policy and Planning from the University of Minnesota and his masters in Human Development from the University of Chicago.