When Amy Vedder was a student at Swarthmore more than 50 years ago and went on strike to protest the Vietnam War, the refrain from the college was one of support: "Go do something about it."
Vedder and her husband, Bill Weber, also a Swarthmore graduate, took that lesson to heart as they pursued their careers and went on to become conservationists, she an ecologist and he a social scientist. Their interdisciplinary work together, stemming back to the late 1970s, helped to save the mountain gorilla from extinction in Rwanda. The couple helped the community see the benefit in turning Rwanda Volcanoes National Park into an ecotourism site that now generates $25 million a year in revenue, with people eager to go and see the majestic beauty of the gorillas.
For their efforts — which are emblematic of a Swarthmore education aimed at turning out graduates passionate about making a difference in the world — the couple, both 72, received honorary doctorate degrees at the college's commencement Sunday.
