C. A. (Chet) Bowers taught at the University of Oregon and Portland State University, and was granted emeritus status in 1998. In retirement he was still active professionally, writing and giving invited talks at international conferences that focused on educational reforms promoting a more sustainable future. He was invited to speak at 42 universities in the United States, including Harvard and Stanford Universities. Invitations to speak at 41 universities in other parts of the world included the University of Trondheim, University of Zagreb, University of Queensland, University of Cape Town, Rhodes University, York University, University of Toronto, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Trinity College (Dublin), Universidad Catolica Boliviana San Pablo, Swiss Foundation for Environmental Education, Seoul National University, and National Chung Hising University (Taiwan). Notably, he was asked by Vice-President Al Gore to be the featured speaker at a dinner/seminar (held at the Gore residence) on the influence of metaphorical thinking on environmental and technology policies. He was one of six Western scholars, along with the former Chinese Minister of Culture, invited to speak at the International Congress on Culture and Humanity in the New Millennium, sponsored by the government of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Bowers gave the John Dewey Memorial Lecture in 1982, and in 1991 was voted the most outstanding environmental faculty at the University of Oregon. In June 2016 he gave an invited talk at a major international conference on educational reforms that address the ecological crisis.
