Denison University Professor of Geology and Geography Kennard B. Bork will speak to the Denison University Alumni Club of Phoenix at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 15) at the Royal Palms Hotel and Casitas (5200 East Camelback Road). Bork will speak on "Kirtley F. Mather: From the Scopes Trial to the McCarthy Era." Phoenix Alumni Club President John Lennon will welcome area Denison alumni and friends to the meeting, which is set for 6 to 8 p.m.

Mather, a 1909 Denison graduate, epitomized the socially concerned scientist. Highly respected by his academic peers, he also communicated with the public about science and issues of concern in a democracy. Following his years as a faculty member at Denison, Mather went on to teach at Harvard from 1924 to 1954.

Bork is winner of the 2000 Neil Miner Award from the Geological Society of America (GSA). The award is given to a college-level professor for exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the earth sciences by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

Bork, who holds Denison's Alumni Chair, was awarded the GSA's prestigious History of Geology Award in 1997 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the history of geology. Bork was the first liberal arts college professor to win that award and is only the second person to win both of these major awards - joining author and Harvard University Professor Stephen Jay Gould.

A favorite on the Denison alumni club lecture circuit, Bork has shared his insights about "Terrible Lizards: Some True Facts and Amazing Hypotheses About Dinosaurs" and "When Terra Is Not So Firma: A Few Geo-Comments on Earthquakes" with audiences on and off-campus.

Winner of Denison's Teaching Excellence Award in 1993, Bork has written "Cracking Rocks and Defending Democracy" (published in 1994), his book about Kirtley F. Mather (1888-1978). Since 1984, Bork has served as one of 10 Americans on the International Commission on the History of the Geological Sciences.

Bork is a fellow of the Geological Society of America, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi (scientific honorary), Omega Delta Kappa (national leadership honorary) and Sigma Gamma Epsilon (geology honorary). Bork also holds memberships in the Comité Français d'Histoire de la Géologie (France) and the Palaeontological Association in Great Britain.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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