Paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey to be March 16 University Lectures speaker at SU

Paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey to be March 16 University Lectures speaker at SUMarch 10, 2004Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Considered the current standard-bearer for the Leakey fossil-hunting dynasty, Meave Leakey and her team of researchers made headlines recently with the discovery in Kenya of Kenyanthropus platyops, a 3.5-million-year-old skull that has completely redefined the study of early human ancestry. Known as a masterful storyteller, Leakey regales audiences with vivid images and real-life stories of her fieldwork in Africa while conveying the importance of exploring human origins. Leakey will discuss her career during the next University Lectures event at Syracuse University, March 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Leakey has worked at the National Museums of Kenya since 1969, becoming head of the Division of Paleontology in 1982 and holding that position until 2001. She has written more than 50 scientific articles and books, and continues to be a highly visible and significant contributor to the study of human origins. She is currently collaborating with her daughter, Louise Leakey, on excavations including the one where Kenyanthropus platyops was discovered.

The University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment in the areas of architecture and design; the humanities and the sciences; and public policy, management and communications. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s Trustees, alumni and friends.

For more information, call (315) 443-3784 or visit http://provost.syr.edu/lectures/.