With the success of the "Science and Society" program co-sponsored by the Faculty Senate and the Institute for Practical Ethics, both groups already are planning for an even more exciting program next semester.
In addition to the Senate and Institute, the University's Center for Global Health and the Forum for Contemporary Thought will co-sponsor the events next semester.
This semester, the Senate and Institute sponsored a lecture series that focused on the theme of "Genetics and Society," featuring prominent speakers such as Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project.
The lectures have "been successful, beyond my wildest imagination," said James Childress, director of the Institute for Practical Ethics.
The lecture series will continue into the spring semester, but its focus will broaden to include issues of global health, Faculty Senate Chairman Robert Grainger said.
Issues that the lecture series will address include global justice as related to research in developing countries, AIDS as a world crisis, inequalities in socioeconomic status among countries and bioterrorism.
"We are in an interdependent world - a fact never more obvious than after Sept. 11 - and we need to understand how our actions and policies have an impact on global health," Childress said.
According to Grainger, the series was designed to be "not too technical" so members of the University community without scientific backgrounds could participate in discussions.
The lectures have been "successful in pulling together faculty from all around Grounds" and from a broad range of disciplines, Childress said.
Although the schedule is just now being developed, there already are a number of notable scientists lined up to give lectures in the spring.
Nobel Prize winner David Baltimore, who also is president of the California Institute of Technology, will discuss his work on discovering tumor viruses.
Aravinda Chakavarti, chairman of the Genetic Medicine Institute at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, will address his studies on mapping genes that are responsible for diseases, including mental illnesses. According to Grainger, Chakavarti's work with mental illnesses is a "controversial and interesting subject."
To provide adequate background information for the lectures, the Senate and Institute will offer INST 306, a one-credit lecture and discussion class.
The five-week-long course will parallel this semester's class, INST 125, but will focus on global health policy and ethics rather than genetics. About 125 students participated in the genetics class this semester, Childress said.
"I've never seen such enthusiasm in a class," Grainger said.
From teaching and gauging students' interest in the class, Grainger said he believes that students studying the sciences want to learn how to apply science and technology in the context of other disciplines, such as economics or ethics.
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