Jane Goodall, who is known worldwide for her work with primates, will visit Cornell from September 13 through 15 in her capacity as an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large. Goodall, who is currently on her Reason of Hope tour, is commemorating the 40th anniversary of her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees at the Gombe Wildlife Research Institute in Tanzania.
“[Goodall], who was first appointed in 1996, is making her third visit to Cornell,” said Gerri Jones, administrator of the Profesors-at-Large Program.
“Goodall is going to be lecturing in an anthropology class [as well as] giving a public lecture entitled Reason for Hope, she is also going to meet with the student group, Roots and Shoots, and the students at the Ecology House,” Jones added.
In 1960, Goodall began studying primates and was the first to show that chimpanzees fashioned and used tools for simple tasks. Goodall was also the first to show that chimpanzees are often carnivores.
Since 1967, Goodall has been acting as the scientific director of the Gombe Wildlife Research Institute. At the Institute, her research is the longest continuous field study of animals ever embarked upon.
In the next few months, Cornell will host other A.D. White Professors-at-Large.
“Toni Morrison is coming which is very exciting, and John Cleese from Monty Python will be showing the movie the ‘Life of Brian’ and talking about it,” said Linda Grace-Kobas, director of Cornell News Service.
“Its going to be an exciting line up this semester and we hope a lot of students take advantage of it,” she added.
In addition to lecturing, there will be a fundraiser held to benefit the Jane Goodall Institute which is devoted “to improving the environment for all living things,” according to the Institute’s website.
Archived article by David Turkel-Parrella