NEWS

McNair Lecture features author of ‘Finding Darwin's God’ Sept. 24

By DEE REID
College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL -- Dr. Kenneth R. Miller, the author of "Finding Darwin's God" and co-author of a series of biology textbooks read by millions of high school and college students, will present the John Calvin McNair Lecture on Religion and Science September 24 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His presentation, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Hanes Art Center auditorium on Cameron Avenue.

Public parking will be available for $1 per hour in visitor parking lots on campus, including limited parking in the Swain and Hanes lots located nearby on Cameron Avenue.

Miller, a professor of biology at Brown University, has written numerous articles defending the scientific integrity of evolution. He will discuss his search as a scientist to find common ground between God and evolution.

"Finding Darwin's God" (Harper Collins, 1999) was named among the top science books of 2000 by the National Public Radio program "Science Friday." The journal Kirkus Reviews called it "a well-reasoned, intelligent text describing why followers of mainstream religions can also embrace the theory of evolution."

The New York Review of Books described Miller's book as "... the most trenchant refutation of the newer creationism to be found anywhere."

Miller's research on cell membrane structure and function has been published in leading journals, including CELL, Nature and Scientific American. He has been a faculty member at Brown University since 1980 and has won six major teaching awards during the past 11 years, including the Rhode Island College Professor of the Year in 1992 from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. He also taught at Harvard University.

He received a PhD in biology from the University of Colorado.

The McNair Lectures, sponsored by the department of religion, were established by a gift from the estate of alumnus John Calvin McNair (1849).

Past lecturers have included Ian Barbour, Steven J. Gould, David R. Griffin and John Polkinghorne. For additional information call (919) 962-5666.

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Contacts: Dr. Edward Curtis, assistant professor of religious studies, UNC, (919) 962-3925, email ecurtis@email.com, or Dee Reid, UNC College of Arts and Sciences, (919) 843-6339, email deereid@unc.edu