Professor Keene received his B.A. from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard University, and an M.C.P. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Keene's teaching and research interests focus on environmental planning and law, legal and policy issues relating to brownfield remediation, and management of urban growth. He is on the Faculty Advisory Committee of the Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership at Penn and has been instrumental in Penn’s participation in an international Master’s Degree program in environmental management that involves studying the subject at the Paris School of Mines and Tsinghua University and a six-month internship.

Professor Keene has advised local governments on the legal aspects of environmental and farmland protection, and is currently working on a study of the constitutional issues that arise when a local government seeks to regulate architectural design.

Professor Keene served as the University Ombudsman from 2006 to 2009.

He has co-authored several books, including Saving American Farmland: What Works? and The Protection of Farmland: A Reference Guidebook for State and Local Governments along with numerous articles and reports. His article "When Does Regulation Go Too Far?“ was published in Penn State Environmental Law Review in 2006.

Courses Taught

• ENVS 611, Environmental Law
• ENVS 643, The Historical, Scientific, and Policy Dimensions of “Brownfield” Remediation.