March 30, 2006

Silverstein lecturers to discuss evolution

Two noted experts on controversy surrounding evolution, creationism, intelligent design

Eugenie C. Scott and Robert T. Pennock, two noted experts on the controversy surrounding evolution, creationism and intelligent design, will be the guest speakers for the annual Center for Genetic Medicine Silverstein Lecture Series. 

The lecture, “Evolution: The Impact of Social and Political Concerns on Science,” will be held on two consecutive evenings. The first lecture will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 at the Pancoe Auditorium, 2200 Campus Drive, Evanston.

The second lecture will be on the Chicago campus at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the Pritzker Auditorium, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron St. Both lectures will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

Scott will address the political and social issues challenging the science classroom, and Pennock will define what science is and is not.

Scott, a former college professor, is the executive director of the National Center for Science Education, a pro-evolution nonprofit science education organization with members in every state. Nationally recognized as a proponent of the separation of church and state, Scott serves on the National Advisory Councils of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union. She is acknowledged internationally as an expert on the issues surrounding creationism and evolution.

Pennock is author of “Tower of Babel: The Evidence against the New Creationism,” which critiques attacks by advocates of “creation-science” and “intelligent design theory” on the evidential basis of evolution. “Tower of Babel” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and has been reviewed in more than 50 publications.

The Center for Genetic Medicine Silverstein Lecture Series is free and open to the public.  The series is designed to bring information about important new developments in genetics research and technology to a broad audience and to provide a forum where people can hear experts discuss genetic topics of widespread interest in plain English.

Funding for the Silverstein Lecture Series is provided by the Herman M. and Bea L. Silverstein Medical Research Fund for Genetic Medicine. The programs are sponsored by the Center for Genetic Medicine, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.

The Evanston campus-based Interdisciplinary Committee on Evolutionary Processes is co-sponsor of the April 11 event.