Dr. John W. Ray, Professor in Montana Tech’s Liberal Studies Department, has had a paper entitled “The Arts and the Environment: How the Arts can Promote Environmental Protection and Restoration” accepted for presentation at the Twelfth International Conference on the Arts in Society to be held next summer at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. In addition to Sorbonne University, sponsors of the conference include: Institute ACTE (Arts Créations Théories Esthétiques) in Paris and CNRS (French National Center of Scientific Research) also in Paris. According to Dr. Ray: “Art can be an imaginative vehicle for communicating information and arousing feeling about societal issues such as environmental degradation. Art can challenge society to preserve and protect our natural environment.” Dr. Ray teaches classes at Montana Tech in political science and political theory. He has also been active in the Superfund cleanup process in Butte. He is chairperson of Citizens for Labor and Environmental Justice and is a board member of CTEC (Citizens Technical Environmental Committee).