Colorado College abruptly lost a beloved professor and friend when Phil Kannan<\/b>, legal-scholar-in-residence and fixture of CC\u2019s Environmental Program, passed away. A moment of reflection was held in Shove Memorial Chapel on Nov. 6 as the community braced itself to endure the loss of Kannan, who\u2019d become a student favorite since he began teaching at CC in 1997.<\/p>\n
Howard Drossman, professor of environmental science and director of the Teaching and Research in Environmental Education (TREE) program, says, \u201cI am quite sure that no one at Colorado College has taught more EV students than Phil Kannan. I estimate that in EV Policy alone, it is likely that Phil taught more than 750 students since we started offering the class as a requirement in 2000.\u201d Drossman adds, \u201cI am also sure that no one at the college has inspired more students to pursue law than Phil has, but I won\u2019t hold that against him. We lost a lot of excellent science majors to law because of Phil\u2019s inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kannan was known for his eccentric characterizations in class that he\u2019d use to help clarify otherwise obfuscated environmental laws and regulations. Environmental science major Cory Page \u201919<\/b> began a document of \u201cPhil-isms\u201d when he took Environmental Policy with Kannan.<\/p>\n
Of all the quotations and quips collected in Page\u2019s document of \u201cThe Wonderful World of Phil Kannan: Comments, Quotes, and Other Memorable Moments,\u201d his favorite is \u201cEnvironmental Policy doesn\u2019t need more spectators, it needs participants.\u201d Another of Page\u2019s favorite \u201cPhil-isms\u201d from his four-page document is \u201cChemists, those energetic little beavers, are out there creating new hazardous air pollutants \u2026 way to go chemists!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jonah Seifer \u201916<\/b>, a project specialist with the State of the Rockies Project, also was amused by the comedic quips alongside dense environmental policy. \u201cPhil was also tickled by telling the same \u2018razorback\u2019 animal joke over and over again. Not all endangered species are as charismatic as pandas or whales, so Phil would constantly attempt to spice up more mundane animals, like the vole, by adding \u2018razorback\u2019 to the beginning,\u201d Seifer says. Hence, the \u201crazorback vole.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the moment of reflection, students and faculty reminisced about another Kannan quirk: his diagrams. Kannan was a fan of illustrations and frequently took to the whiteboard to draw illegible maps. Page says, \u201cI mean, the way he draws the United States. Good Lord. Half the geographers roll over in their graves. I don\u2019t even think Florida and Texas make the cut. It\u2019s just like a square with a little blip for Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from the laughter and levity Kannan brought to sometimes draconian environmental policy, his most enduring legacies at CC will be the inspiration he provided to students, the willpower he showed in his career, and the passion that he brought to every day.<\/p>\n