The downtown branch of the Portage Co. Library is located at 1001 Main St. in Stevens Point. (Metro Wire photo)

Free community lecture series returns to downtown library

August 27, 2019

Metro Wire Staff

UW-Stevens Point has announced the return of its free community lecture series at the Portage Co. Library.

Experts from UWSP staff will host eight discussions on a variety of topics, including turtles, science fiction, beer, and democracy, as part of a public lecture series in the coming academic year.

The College of Letters and Science Community Lecture Series will be held on select Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Pinery Room at the library, 1001 Main St., Stevens Point. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

The first of eight lectures, “Mitigating Wildlife Mortality Along State Highway 66,” will be held Tuesday, Sept. 10, presented by Peter Zani of the Department of Biology at UW-Stevens Point. The presentation will discuss a tunnel underpass on Hwy. 66 near Jordan Pond and its role in decreasing mortality among turtles and other animals, and improved driver safety, since 2016.

An associate professor of biology, Zani has studied reptiles and amphibians for 25 years, traveling to Brazil, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. His research focuses on how animals cope with seasonal environments and climate change. He is also the curator of amphibians and reptiles for the UW-Stevens Point Museum of Natural History.

The 2019-20 Community Lecture Series schedule also includes:

Oct. 8 – “The History of Beer,” Terese Barta, Department of Biology
Nov. 12 – “The Role of Media in a Healthy Democracy,” Saemyi Park, Department of Political Science
Dec. 10 – “Understanding Society Through Science Fiction,” David Barry, Department of Sociology and Social Work
Feb. 4, 2020 – “Preserving the Legacy of Place,” Douglas Miskowiak, Department of Geography and Geology
March 10, 2020 – “Refugee Literature: Writing and Refugitude,” Lauren Gantz, Department of English
April 7, 2020 – “Data Analytics: Past, Present and Future,” Kurt Pflughoeft, Department of Computing and New Media Technologies
May 5, 2020 – “Wicked and Cruel: Joshua Glover and Wisconsin’s Fight Against Federal Tyranny,” Rob Harper, Department of History and International Studies

For more information on the Community Lecture Series, visit www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries or email [email protected].