CWU to Host Sixth Annual Darwin Week Celebration

February 7, 2007

ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- For the sixth straight year, Central Washington University will explore the relationship between science and religion during "Darwin Week" on the Ellensburg campus. Titled "The Power of Evolution," it will be held Feb. 12-16.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Gene Kritsky, a biology professor at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati and editor of the quarterly magazine "American Entomologist."

Kritsky has been researching and lecturing about evolution and the cultural impact of Darwinism for more than 25 years. A fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a Fulbright Scholar, his research has attracted national attention.

On Monday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m., in the Student Union and Recreation Center Theatre, Kritsky will present, "Charles Darwin, His Life and Times." Drawn from first-person accounts and illustrated with many unpublished images, it will provide an up-close and personal look at Darwin the scientist, husband, father and colleague.

Following the seminar, the CWU biological sciences department will host a reception in the Science Building foyer to celebrate Darwin's 198th birthday.

On Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 1 p.m. in Science Building 216, CWU physics professor Andy Piacsek will discuss "Complexity in Nature: How a Boring Universe Generates Weirdness, Beauty…and Life."

At 4 p.m., in Science Building 147, Kritsky will discuss "Periodical Cicadas: The Plague and the Puzzle," based on his 2004 book of the same name. Kritsky says periodical cicadas the "bugs" of history since the insects use time as a survival mechanism.

And, at 7 p.m., at the Student Union Fireside Pit, CWU geological sciences professor Alexander Glass will lead a public forum and discussion titled "So You Think You Know About Evolution?"

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 4 p.m., in Science Building 101, CWU biological sciences professor Holly Pinkart will discuss "Evolution, Disease, and Society."

Thursday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m., in Science Building 111, CWU geological sciences professor Paul Hoskin will answer the question "Can a believer really be a scientist?"

And, at 7 p.m., in Kamola Hall 202, Central student Dan Guenther, from the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, will lead a discussion on "Genesis: Myth, History, or Science?"

On Friday, Feb. 16, at noon, in Science Building 101, Glass will lead the final Darwin Week presentation focusing on "Darwin's Dilemma: The Cambrian Explosion and the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth."

Darwin Week 2007 is sponsored by the CWU biological sciences and geological sciences departments, College of the Sciences and Office of the Provost.

For more information, or for persons of disability to arrange for reasonable accommodation, call 509-963-2807, or (for the hearing impaired) TDD 509-963-2143.

Contacts: Drs. David Darda (509-963-2731/fax 509-963-2730/e-mail: dardad@cwu.edu), Alexander Glass (509-963-2701/fax 509-963-2821/e-mail: glassa@cwu.edu), or Andrew Piacsek (509-963-2727/fax 509-963-2728/e-mail: piacsek@cwu.edu)