University of Wisconsin professor Elizabeth Hennessy to lead next Darwin-Lyell Distinguished Lecture Series
Elizabeth Hennessy, Ph.D., from the University of Wisconsin–Madison will headline the next installment of the Georgia Southern Department of Biology’s Bill Lovejoy Darwin-Lyell Distinguished Lecture Series. Hennessy will address the delicate balance of tourism and conservation in the Galápagos Islands on April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Nessmith Lane Center in Statesboro.
“There is a certain tension between this ideal of the pristine natural laboratory and the reality of a modern tourism industry on these islands,” Hennessy said. “How do you square those two things together? In some ways, the islands are a case study in sustainability.”
Hennessy hopes that modern audiences see Darwin as more than a figure from history, but as someone whose legacy still holds lessons for how we approach conservation today.
“In some ways, Galápagos is a parable for the world at large,” said Hennessy. “How do we find a way to live in our modern economic reality while protecting the nature that is so valuable to us?”
Taking lessons from the work of Charles Darwin, who studied the animal species on the Galápagos, and Sir Charles Lyell, and applying them to current topics is a founding principle of the lecture series. Endowed by Bill Lovejoy, Ph.D., a former professor of biology at Georgia Southern who shared a birthday with Darwin and studied historical figures in biological research, the series is part of Lovejoy’s legacy of encouraging discussion on nuanced topics.
“He had great respect for Darwin and Lyell and how their work was discussed by others in the field,” noted Georgia Southern Professor of Biology Steve Vives, Ph.D. “We look for topics that hit home with students and faculty so they can start their own conversations in that spirit.”
The exchange of ideas and forming future partnerships to address issues is one part Hennessy is most looking forward to on her first trip to Statesboro.
“I’m really curious to hear more about what the people at Georgia Southern are working on and what parts of my work are most interesting to them,” said Hennessy. “It’s always fun to think about potential collaborations in the future and to find common themes in our research.”