Published on February 28, 2018 by Maryellen Newton  
Biologist Tyrone Hayes
Biologist Tyrone Hayes

Samford University’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences has created a new lecture named for longtime professors Mike Howell and Ellen McLaughlin.

The first lecture in the series–“From Silent Spring to Silent Night: A Tale of Toads and Men”–will be offered March 22 at 6 p.m. in Brooks Hall Auditorium. Speaker Tyrone Hayes of the University of California, Berkeley, is widely known for his research and advocacy related to the herbicide atrizine.

The Howell-McLaughlin lecture is one of four events the department is hosting in March and April, including:

 • “Employing Next Generation Sequencing to Understand Biodiversity: From Microbes to Macroevolutionary Patterns”–Tim Colston, Ph.D., George Washington University. March 8, 3:30 p.m., Christenberry Planetarium (Propst Hall 140).

• “Romancing the Lily: The Natural History of Hymenocallis coronaria”–Larry Davenport, Ph.D., Samford University. April 5, 3 p.m., Christenberry Planetarium (Propst Hall 140).

 • David Butler, Cahaba Riverkeeper. April 19, 3 p.m., Christenberry Planetarium (Propst Hall 140).

Maryellen Newton is a journalism and mass communication major and a news and feature writer in the Division of Marketing and Communication.
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. The Wall Street Journal ranks Samford 1st nationally for student engagement and U.S. News & World Report ranks Samford 66th in the nation for best undergraduate teaching and 104th nationally for best value. Samford enrolls 5,683 students from 47 states and 19 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference, and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.