Mae Jemison and Jane Goodall among five A.D. White Professors-at-Large to give public lectures at Cornell in March and April

Physician and former astronaut Mae Jemison and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall are among an interdisciplinary cast of Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large who will give public talks during their visits to Cornell University in March and April. Others professor-at-large visitors include: environmental expert Jules Pretty, reproductive biologist Roger Short, and former Bosnian prime minister Haris Silajdzic.

The following list offers the dates of visits and some information on public lectures:

  • Jules Pretty , March 4-14: Pretty is a worldwide leader in the field of sustainable development and director of the Centre for Environment and Society at the University of Essex, England. He is the author of the upcoming book Agri-Culture: Communities Reshaping Land and Nature . During his visit, Pretty will give four free public lectures and will participate in a seminar on water quality. He also will meet with Cornell Participatory Action Research Network members, serve as consultant to a Rural Livelihoods and Biological Resources workshop and meet with student residents of the Ecology House. In addition, Pretty will meet with students in the classes Education 685 and Nutritional Science 651. He will offer the following talks, which are free and open to the public:
  • Thursday, March 7 at 4 p.m.: "Genetic Modification and Agriculture: Science, Risks, Ethics, and Public Policy," Conference Room G-10, Biotechnology Building:
  • Friday, March 8 at 12:20 p.m.: "Soil Health and Sustainability," 135 Emerson Hall;
  • Friday, March 8 at 2 p.m.: "The Multifunctionality, Sustainability, and Externalities of European Agriculture," B-45 Warren Hall;
  • Wednesday, March 13 at 3 p.m.: "People and National Parks: The Myth of the Wilderness," 300 Rice Hall.
  • Roger Short , March 7-19: The author of Reproduction in Mammals and Ever Since Adam and Eve is a reproductive physiologist by training, currently a Wexler Professorial Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Women's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Australia. Over the past four decades, his research in the field of human and animal reproduction has significantly influenced the world's knowledge of mother-fetal interactions; comparative pregnancy and sexual behavior of animals; human fertility and contraception; global overpopulation and societal issues; and the sexual transmission of HIV.
  • Mae Jemison , March 25-April 4: A former astronaut, the professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College will give a public lecture March 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Statler Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets will be required. Jemison, Cornell M.D. '81, flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor as the science mission specialist on an eight-day flight which was a joint venture between the United States and Japan. In 1993, Jemison left NASA to start her own company, The Jemison Group, which researches, develops and markets advanced technologies for developing countries with a special emphasis on technology and sustainable development. Her organization also sponsors the International Science Camp, "The Earth We Share," an experiential residential program for youth designed to build critical thinking and problem solving skills and science literacy. Jemison was inducted in the Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 and selected by the White House Project in 1998 as one of 20 women with the possibility of becoming U.S. President.
  • Haris Silajdzic , April 11-18: Co-chair of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and former prime minister of Bosnia. Silajdzic first gained international recognition between 1992 and 1995, when he helped publicize the war and devastation taking place in his country. He alerted the world community to the plight of the civilian population that was suffering under attacks in which the most fundamental human rights were violated. He engaged in negotiations with many nations to open doors for almost 2 million refugees leaving Bosnia to escape terror and death. In March 1994 he headed the government's delegation in negotiations that ended successfully in the Washington agreement, creation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and an end to fighting between Croat and government forces.
  • Jane Goodall , April 16-19: Scientific director of the Gombe Wildlife Research Institute in Tanzania, Goodall is widely recognized as the world's most distinguished primatologist. She has gained international recognition both as a scholar who has pushed forward the frontiers of knowledge and as a speaker who has the ability to communicate and to excite lay audiences and generations of students, as well. Her research at Gombe, the longest continuous field study of animals ever undertaken, has changed significantly our views on the life and behavior of chimpanzees. Goodall will give a sermon to celebrate Earth Day in Sage Chapel at 5 p.m., April 17.

 

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