The Alumni and Friends Scholarship Gala is a time to reconnect with friends, alumni, and faculty. This is an evening designed to support you, your profession, and future public health professionals. All proceeds raised from this event go directly to student scholarships.
Thursday, September 22, 2011, 5:30 p.m.
TCF Bank Stadium - DQ Room
2009 University Ave. SE
Parking is available at the University Ramp
1926 University Ave. S.E.
Keynote speaker: Michael Specter
Michael Specter
A skillful writer and a great speaker with a masterful stage presence, Michael brings a dose of rationality and knowledge to all the events in which he participates.
Michael is the author of Denialism, a meticulously reported investigation of the growing mistrust among people around the world of science and its byproducts. He argues that irrationality, politically-inspired fear, and misplaced skepticism have undermined public acceptance of the scientific marvels of our age, and the benefits they all provide humankind.
He is the winner of the 2009 Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking, from The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Skeptical Inquirer magazine.
Michael argues that by turning our backs on scientific impartiality, we are abandoning rational thought in favor of hearsay, rumors and vague promises, which he sees manifested in the rush to organic foods, as well as vitamins, dietary supplements and "natural" cures that do no good and sometimes cause harm.
Most importantly, he gives voice to the growing fear that denialism, as he calls the phenomenon, will stifle scientific inquiry and progress, prevent us from solving solvable problems such as famine in third world countries, and create new windows of opportunity for devastating diseases to appear in the world.
Watch Michael Specter's 2010 TED talk
For more information
If you have questions, please contact Nichole Axtman, event coordinator for the School of Public Health, at mart1047@umn.edu or 612-626-9303.
