Richard Dawkins (second from right) lunching in Madison, Wis., prior to delivering his riveting March 11 Distinguished Lecture address. He is shown with Deb Goddard, a student organizer with Free Inquiry, Foundation Life Member Phil Ferguson, a board member of the Secular Student Alliance, and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president. FFRF co-prez Dan Barker, also present, took the photograph.
|
Foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor and new Foundation staff member Jane Esbensen staffing a colorful table at the Richard Dawkins Distinguished Lecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The sell-out event was cosponsored by the Foundation. Photo by Dan Barker.
|
Prof. Richard Dawkins, renowned evolutionary biologist and author of the international blockbuster, The God Delusion, spent three weeks in the United States on a high-profile tour in March. The celebrated atheist and author of The Selfish Gene and many other major scientific works gave the Distinguished Lecture address at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on March 11. The sell-out event was cosponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
Dawkins’ riveting and gracious talk ended with a standing ovation. Hundreds of audience members lined up afterward to meet Dawkins and get books autographed.
The speech won rave press plaudits. The Capital Times headline reported: “Full house captivated by atheist Dawkins’ take on religion.”
Wisconsin State Journal columnist Susan Lampert Smith asked: “Who knew an evolutionary biologist had rock-star drawing power?”
