WKU will receive a visit from an internationally renowned climatologist today.

Kenrick Leslie, executive director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and accomplished physicist and meteorologist, will be speaking today at 4:00 p.m. in Snell Hall 2113. His presentation is titled “Responding to Climate Change in the Caribbean.”

Leslie will be joined by Ulric Trotz, science adviser for the CCCCC, and Mark Bynoe, an environmental economist, who will present at various times during their three-day stay in Bowling Green.

The CCCCC is the leading authority on climate change information for the Caribbean. It services member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, including Belize, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas, according to CCCCC’s website.

Cheryl Stevens, dean of Ogden College of Science and Engineering, is looking forward to Leslie’s presentations and deepening a relationship between the CCCCC and WKU.

“We are looking forward to working toward establishing collaborative research projects with the CCCCC and identifying sources of funding for these initiatives,” Stevens said. “We hope that this collaboration will provide some opportunities for students to participate in exchange and study abroad programs in the Caribbean and Belize.”

Leslie North, assistant professor of geography, is a member of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, one of the groups that is cosponsoring the climatologists’ visit.

“I’m so thrilled to be visiting with these men,” she said. “It’s truly an honor… Dr. Leslie is one of those people who can call the Prime Ministers of nations and just talk with them, no questions asked.”

North called the CCCCC “the U.N. for the Caribbean as far as climate change goes.”

“These men attend CARICOM meetings, making sure all the member nations are up-to-date on the latest on adapting to climate change,” North said. “The CCCCC covers all aspects of climate change — biological, economic, policies involved. The men visiting are a good representation of what the CCCCC does.”

After visiting with WKU students and faculty, Leslie, Trotz and Bynoe will speak at Bowling Green High School, as well as visit the school’s climate change fair, according to their itineraries for their stay in Bowling Green.