Annual Shaw Biology Lecture to feature New York Times best-selling author

The University of Southern Indiana will host its 9th annual Shaw Biology Lecture at 7 p.m. Monday, April 17 in Mitchell Auditorium, located in the Nursing and Health Professions Building. Frans de Waal, New York Times best-selling author, will present “Politics, Cognition, Morality: You Name It – Our Fellow Primates Have It All.” The presentation is open to the public at no charge. 

De Waal is a C.H. Candler Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Emory University, and is former Director of Living Links, a division of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, established for primate studies to shed light on human behavioral evolution. A Dutch/American biologist, de Waal is known for his work on the behavior and social intelligence of primates.  

In 2011, Discover Magazine named him among the “47 (All Time) Great Minds of Science” and in 2019, Prospect Magazine ranked him fourth for the “World’s Top Thinkers.” His scientific work has been published in hundreds of articles and journals, such as Science and Nature, and volumes specialized in animal behavior. His dozen popular books, translated into over 20 languages, made him one of the world’s most visible primatologists. 

De Waal’s bestsellers include Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? and Mama’s Last Hug. His latest book is titled Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist. Following his presentation, de Waal will be available for a book signing.  

The Shaw Lecture Series is funded by a USI Foundation endowment with support by the USI Biology Department and the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education. 

For questions, contact Dr. Marlene Shaw, Professor Emerita of Biology, at mshaw@usi.edu.