The Holland Lecture Series

Sponsored by the First Unitarian Church of Omaha

Established by Mary and Richard Holland

Lecture Series Email Address

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at the Holland Performing Arts Center

Beginning April 4th,
FREE TICKETS for this reserved seating event will be available by calling:
Ticket Omaha Box Office
Locally: 402.345.0606 - Toll-free: 866.434.8587 - TTY: 402.341.1811
Monday-Friday: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturdays: Noon-5 p.m.
Each caller may request up to six free tickets to the lecture and for the reception that follows.

Donald C. Johanson is a professor and the Founding Director of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University. Best known as the “Discoverer of Lucy,” Dr. Johanson has dedicated his professional career to excavating, understanding and explaining the fossil finds that explain human evolution. The long, complex – and still unfolding – story of human origins sheds light on who we are as a species today. He believes that, "We are an unprecedented and totally unanticipated species, and hopefully an awareness of the deep biological roots we share with one another and the rest of nature will point us in the direction of our best dreams rather than our worst nightmares."

The world-renowned paleoanthropologist has conducted field and laboratory research for the past 30 years. His field research in Africa and the Middle East has taken him to Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Tanzania and Ethiopia, where in 1974,just months after receiving his PhD from the University of Chicago, he discovered the 3.18 million year old hominid skeleton popularly known as "Lucy." In 1978, he shocked the scientific community with an assertion that the remains were not human – Homo sapiens – but belonged to another distinct species, which he named Australopithecus afarensis. Very recently, a report by Johanson and others was published in the journal Science showing that A. afarensis had a foot evolved to support a modern-human style of locomotion.

Dr. Johanson helps increase the understanding of human origins through his lecturing, writing and teaching. He has written the widely read "Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind" (with M. Edey, 1991) and numerous scientific and popular articles. His latest book is "Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins" (with K. Wong, 2009). He has coauthored other books, including: Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution (with M. Edey, 1989), Lucy's Child: The Discovery of a Human Ancestor (with J. Shreeve, 1989)), Journey From the Dawn: Life With the World's First Family (with K. O'Farrell, 1990), Ancestors: In Search of Human Origins (with L. Johanson, B. Edgar, 1994) and From Lucy to Language (with B. Edgar, 1996)

Since 1980, Johanson has participated in the production of several documentary series. He appeared as the on-screen host of a 13-part series for Nature in 1982. In 1994, he narrated “Ancestors: In Search of Human Origins,” a companion NOVA television series seen by more than 100 million people worldwide.

He is an Honorary Board Member of the Explorers Club, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a member of many other professional organizations and recipient of several international prizes and awards. In 1975, Dr. Johanson was appointed curator of physical anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and, beginning in 1976, developed a laboratory of physical anthropology that attracted scholars from all over the world.

Dr. Johanson received his Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology at the University of Chicago and attended the University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana as an undergraduate. As a Professor of Anthropology, his career took him from Case Western University to Kent State to Stanford to Arizona State University.

The Holland Lecture Series seeks to bring timely and important views and ideas to the community. The views represented are the sole responsibility of the guest speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the First Unitarian Church of Omaha.

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The Holland Lecture Series

First Unitarian Church has a long history of encouraging free and open discussion of controversial topics. For 10 years, between 1954 and 1964, the church was the home of the Frank R. Hoagland Lectures. As a young man, Dick Holland attended many of those lectures and discussed new ideas and ways of thinking that shaped his world perspective. His current desire to resurrect a speaker series and bring distinguished speakers to Omaha is rooted in his memories of attending those earlier presentations. Dick and Mary Holland believed that the Hoagland Lectures, which also brought well-known national figures to speak in Omaha, was an appropriate model for the new Holland Lecture Series that they established. In June 2006, First Unitarian Church and the Omaha community lost a very good friend with the passing of Mary Holland. 

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Previous Holland Lecture speakers:

March 11, 2009 - "The Purpose of Purpose". Dr. Richard Dawkins, Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, Oxford University.

Note: We have received many requests to see the video of Dr. Dawkins' talk. We are pleased to announce that it is now available on his web site. The video is a composite of the three lectures that Dawkins gave on his US Midwest tour in Michigan, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

October 20, 2009 -"The Great Crisis and the Predator State". Dr. James Galbraith,Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and Professor of Government, University of Texas, Austin.

 

May 26, 2010 - "The Middle Class At Risk: The New Economic Insecurity and What Can Be Done About It." Jacob Hacker, Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science, Yale University

 

September 29, 2010 - "The Dumbed-Down Politics of Unreason: Anger Or Sheer Ignorance?" Susan Jacoby, American Author

 

Updated Febr 2, 2011  wfr