Oriel Environment Group —  Rev. Dr. Harold “Dorrell” Briscoe

The Oriel Environment Group is thrilled to be welcoming Rev. Dr. Harold “Dorrell” Briscoe to College on Tuesday 7 April at 5pm to discuss Creation, Stewardship, and the Climate Crisis: Faith, Public Policy, and Moral Responsibility. The talk will take place in the Robert Beddard Room.

Briscoe will explore the moral and theological imperatives of responding to climate change at the intersection of faith and public policy. Drawing on his experience in urban planning, infrastructure development, and neighbourhood revitalisation, as well as his training in public administration at Texas A&M University, he reflects on how questions of environmental resilience, disaster preparedness, and sustainable development increasingly demand ethical and spiritual leadership.

Faith communities, Briscoe suggests, possess a unique capacity to cultivate the moral imagination, communal responsibility, and long-term vision necessary to respond faithfully to a rapidly changing planet. This lecture argues that climate change is not only a technical or political challenge but a profound moral crisis.

The event is free to attend, and everyone is welcome. Please use the form below to book your place. Read on to find out more about Rev. Dr Briscoe

About the speaker:

Dorrell is a historian, public theologian, writer, and higher education leader, currently serving as Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at Rollins College, Florida, where he provides strategic leadership for the College’s religious, spiritual, and interfaith initiatives, cultivating a campus culture rooted in belonging, moral courage, and rigorous dialogue across difference.

He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Leicester, where his research explores the relationship between Cold War liberalism, Black political thought, and the expansion of federal power. He also earned a Doctorate in Religious Leadership from Duke University, where his dissertation—There’s a Storm Comin’—developed adaptive leadership frameworks for congregations navigating crisis, drawing on climate change adaptation models to inform faith-based responses to social upheaval. This work became his bestselling book and contributed to national conversations on leadership during times of crisis.

Earlier in his career, he worked in local and state government across Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, focusing on urban planning and neighbourhood revitalisation—experience that continues to inform his work on policy, governance, and moral leadership.

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