World-Renowned Conservationist Jane Goodall to Speak at Colorado State University April 25

Jane Goodall – world-renowned conservationist and U.N. Messenger of Peace – will speak at Colorado State University at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at Moby Arena followed by a book signing. The doors to Moby Arena will open at 5:30 p.m. Goodall’s lecture is supported by the Monfort Family Foundation as part of the Monfort Lecture Series at Colorado State.

Goodall’s lecture, "A Reason to Hope," will address her amazing life and work as well as the power each of us has to make a difference, every moment of every day. Flash photography will not be allowed at any time during the lecture.

Tickets will be available beginning March 19 at the Campus Box Office by calling (970) 491-4TIX or visiting www.csutix.com. The Campus Box Office, located in the Lory Student Center, is open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Friday. Admission is free; however, a ticket is required for entry to the lecture. There is a limit of six tickets per customer. To request tickets for groups larger than six, contact the Campus Box Office.

Goodall began her work studying chimpanzees in Tanzania in June 1960, under the mentorship of anthropologist Louis Leaky. Her work at what was then called the Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve has served as a foundation of primatological research. Her most significant discovery was made during her first year at Gombe when she observed chimps making tools out of stripped leaves that they then used to dig out termites in a nearby mound. This observation redefined the scientific premise that separated man from other animals as the only tool maker.

In 1965 Goodall established the Gombe Stream Research Center. Under the stewardship of Tanzanian field staff and other researchers, it continues Goodall’s work today.

Perhaps most significantly, Goodall’s work opened a window onto the world of chimpanzees for a public with a strong curiosity about its closest genetic relatives. Her books, particularly "In the Shadow of Man" and "Through a Window," brought the world onto a first-name basis with the chimpanzees of Gombe.

Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute continues Dr. Goodall’s pioneering research of chimpanzee behavior – research that transformed scientific perceptions of the relationship between humans and animals. Today, the Institute is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats.

It also is widely recognized for establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and the Roots & Shoots education program, which has groups in more than 95 countries.

Roots & Shoots is a youth program that supports young people involved in service projects that are educational and beneficial to people, animals and the environment. The program was started by Goodall and 16 Tanzanian students in 1990. Roots & Shoots-Four Corners States (Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico) is the program’s newest regional operation and now supporting the work of more than 8,000 registered groups.

During her visit, Goodall will meet with student members of Colorado State’s Roots & Shoots chapter.

Goodall’s scores of honors include the Medal of Tanzania, the National Geographic Society’s Hubbard Medal, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research 2003, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, UNESCO Gold Medal Award and the Gandhi/King Award for Nonviolence. In April 2002 Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Goodall a United Nations "Messenger of Peace." In 2004, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles invested Goodall as a Dame of the British Empire, the female equivalent of knighthood. In 2006, Goodall received France’s highest recognition, the French Legion of Honor, presented by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in Paris.

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