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<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5
color=maroon face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:18.0pt;color:maroon;
font-weight:bold'>USAO Hosts Liberal Arts Symposium, Pulitzer Winning Author
April 10<br>
</span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>CHICKASHA</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'> – In keeping with its liberal arts
tradition, the </span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>University</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> of </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Science</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> and Arts of Oklahoma is
hosting Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Jared Diamond on April 10. The headlining
speaker is one of several state and national guests planned for the daylong
symposium focused on liberal arts in higher education.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><img width=299 height=436
src="cid:image001.jpg@01C7769C.0B03E990" align=right border=0><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>To prepare the campus and </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Chickasha</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> communities for
Diamond’s presentation, the University is screening a free showing of the
National Geographic documentary, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” March 28
at </span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>5:30
p.m.</span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> in
Davis Hall 124.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Based on Diamond’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning book
of the same name, the PBS video presents Diamond’s theories on the major
differences between technological societies and those that are still primitive.
The video will be presented in three one-hour segments with intermissions and
free refreshments.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face=Palatino><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black'>“Dr. Diamond is
an internationally recognized scholar who uses an interdisciplinary approach in
his research,” said </span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>Dr. Darryel Reigh, professor of chemistry<font
color=black><span style='color:black'>. “He represents the broad liberal
arts perspective that we at USAO attempt to give our students as a backdrop to
experience our culture. It is a privilege to bring a writer and scholar with
Dr. Diamond's credentials to USAO and to the State of </span></font></span></font><font
color=black face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino;color:black'>Oklahoma</span></font><font
color=black face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino;color:black'>.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>As part of the Emerson-Wier Liberal Arts Symposium,
Diamond will address students, faculty, staff and community members in a public
forum on April 10 about past civilizations and implications for current and
future ones.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>A </span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>6 p.m.</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'> dinner and reception featuring Diamond is
available by reservation for $25.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Beginning at </span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>8 p.m.</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>, Diamond will address the public in the Te Ata
Memorial Auditorium. His lecture topic, “Collapse: How Societies Choose
to Fail or Succeed,” comes from his latest book with the same title.
Tickets for the lecture are $10.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Reservations for both April 10 events are due April 3.
Tickets may be purchased in the USAO Business Office or by phone at (405)
574-1213. An official brochure on the symposium’s events may be
downloaded at <a href="http://www.usao.edu">www.usao.edu</a>.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Diamond is expected to speak about the trends and factors
involved with the success and failure of societies. He surmises that if
environmental problems helped pave the way to destruction, modern scholars can
learn how to avoid similar collapses in current societies.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Beginning at </span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>2 p.m.</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>, USAO students will present research findings on
the second floor of Davis Hall. From </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>3-4:30 p.m.</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>, the public is invited to a
free public liberal arts forum in the Davis Hall Amphitheater featuring guest
speakers from across the state and nation.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Dr. David D. Brown, chancellor of the </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>University</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> of </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>North Carolina</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> at </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Asheville</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> and initiator of what is now
the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, will speak on liberal arts as a
national resource. Dr. Phil Moss, vice chancellor for academic affairs for the
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, will present, “Liberal Education
in the State System: </span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:
Palatino'>Oklahoma</span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:
Palatino'>’s Commitment.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Oklahoma</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'> </span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'>College</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'> for Women graduate Dr. Jeane Porter Hester (1951)
is known internationally as a leukemia expert and as one of the developers of
the Blood Cell Separator. She will speak about her personal experience with a
liberal arts education. Jim Tolbert, owner of Oklahoma City-based Full Circle
Bookstore, plans to talk about the liberal arts as a pivotal component of </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Oklahoma</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>’s future
knowledge-based economy.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>The forum will be moderated by Dr. </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Jennifer Long</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>, chair of interdisciplinary
studies and associate professor of economics.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>The study of why civilizations rise and fall is not
uncharted territory for Diamond. His latest book, “Collapse: How
Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” explores ruined societies, such as
Easter Island, the Anasazi and Viking colonies of Greenland and what led to
their demise.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>A professor of geography at UCLA, Diamond is the
recipient of multiple awards, including the MacArthur Foundation genius grant,
the conservation medals of the Zoological Society of San Diego, the Carr Medal
and </span></font><font face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Japan</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>’s international Cosmos
Prize.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>In 1999, Diamond received the National Medal of Science
from President Bill Clinton, the highest civilian award in science, for his
research and discoveries in evolutionary biology. Two years later, he was
awarded the prestigious Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for his
contributions to the field of conservation biology.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>He also was featured on a PBS special, “Great Minds
of Science: Evolution.” </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>Diamond earned a Ph.D. from the </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>University</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> of </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Cambridge</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'> and a bachelor’s degree
from Harvard.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>In his book, “Globalization: For Better or For
Worse,” Diamond addresses the impact of </span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>Sept. 11, 2001</span></font><font
face=Palatino><span style='font-family:Palatino'>, on the psyche of the
American public. Specifically, Diamond spotlights the new American awareness of
global contact and its unpredictable nature, such as AIDS, terrorism, illegal
immigration and diabetes epidemics. Diamond asserts that remote societies can
no longer collapse without influencing the rest of the world.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>His other bestselling books include “The Third
Chimpanzee” and “Why is Sex Fun?”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'> <br>
</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face=Impact><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:Impact'>NEWS RELEASE</span></font><font size=2 face="Caxton Bk BT"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Caxton Bk BT"'>
</span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>March 22, 2007</span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'><br>
</span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>UNIVERSITY</span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'> OF </span></font><font size=1
face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'>SCIENCE</span></font><font
size=1 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'> AND
ARTS OF </span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;
font-family:Palatino'>OKLAHOMA</span></font><font size=1 face=Palatino><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'> - </span></font><font size=1
face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'>CHICKASHA</span></font><font
size=1 face=Palatino><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Palatino'><br>
CONTACT MICHAEL BENDURE, News Bureau, 405-574-1362, <i><span style='font-style:
italic'><a href="mailto:mbendure@usao.edu">mbendure@usao.edu</a><br>
</span></i>RANDY TALLEY: Public Relations, 405-574-1337, <i><span
style='font-style:italic'><a href="mailto:rtalley@usao.edu">rtalley@usao.edu</a><br>
</span></i>LAURA HARRISON: Public Relations, 405-574-1318, <i><span
style='font-style:italic'><a href="mailto:lharrison@usao.edu">lharrison@usao.edu</a><br>
</span></i>FAX: 405-574-1377</span></font><font face=Palatino><span
style='font-family:Palatino'> </span></font></p>
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