Phillip Kannan, a distinguished lecturer and legal scholar-in-residence at Colorado College, passed away on Monday, Nov. 6.

Kannan was a committed and inspiring teacher-scholar, teaching in CC's environmental program, advising pre-law students, and writing about environmental, Native American, and discrimination issues.

"Phil was kind and wise and had great positive impact on his students and colleagues at CC. He will be missed," says Colorado College President Jill Tiefenthaler.

Kannan served as visiting professor from 1997 to 2002 and professor from 2002-2004, after which he became distinguished lecturer and legal scholar-in-residence at Colorado College. He served on the faculty advisory committee for Southwest Studies, and among the courses he taught were Topics in Environmental Social Sciences and Environmental Management.

His research interests centered around three areas of law and policy: (1) The precautionary principle in U.S. and international law and policy. He published an article titled "The Precautionary Principle: More than a Cameo Appearance in United States Environmental Law?" in the William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review in May of 2007. (2) Environmental Justice and Human Rights. He published an article on discrimination in the University of Memphis Law Review in May of 2006. (3) Sovereignty issues for Native American Indian tribes.

Kannan also worked with Colorado College's State of the Rockies Project, and wrote an article titled "United States Laws and Policies Protecting Wildlife" in 2009.