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Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series Presented Dr. Leonard Shlain  

The Seaver Dean's Office presented Dr. Leonard Shlain, the second speaker in the 2006-07 Distinguished Lecture Series, on Oct. 24. Titled 'The Alphabet Versus The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image,' the lecture took place at Smothers Theatre.  

Dr. Shlain grew up in Detroit, Michigan, attended the University of Michigan, and took his M.D. at Wayne State University School of Medicine (1961). He is currently chairman of laparoscopic surgery at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and is an associate clinical professor of surgery at UCSF.

He is the author of three critically acclaimed, nationally bestselling, and award-winning books. These include Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, & Light (1991), which the Los Angeles Times proclaimed a “tour de force;” The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (1999), which achieved national bestseller status; and Sex, Time, and Power: How Women’s Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution (2003), which also achieved bestseller status.

Dr. Shlain is presently working on a book titled Leonardo’s Brain: The Right/Left Roots of Creativity. He also lectures widely in the United States and Europe. He has been a keynote speaker for such diverse groups as the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, Florence Academy of Art, and the European Union’s Ministers of Culture.

Each year, Seaver College Dean David Baird selects five or more nationally renowned speakers to come to the University and give a lecture followed by a question and answer period. Paid for by the Seaver Board of Visitors and the Seaver Parents Association, the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series provides Pepperdine students, faculty, staff, and the Malibu community the opportunity to hear a variety of outstanding national scholars and professionals who are exceptional examples in their field.