Vice President Al Gore will deliver the keynote address at the Dartmouth Medical School Bicentennial Symposium on the evening of Sept. 5.
The symposium, which boasts distinguished speakers on a wide range of topics including health care, world population control, neuroscience and genetics, will be held Sept. 5 to Sept. 7 in Spaulding Auditorium at the Hopkins Center.
Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, who shared the 1985 Nobel Prize in Medicine, will be chairing the symposium which is titled "Great Issues for Medicine in the 21st Century: A Consideration of the Ethical and Social Issues Arising Out of Advances in the Biomedical Sciences."
Other internationally recognized scientists and doctors participating in the program are former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and Gerald Edelman, a Nobel laureate and Scripps Research Institute neurobiologist.
Chair of the Bicentennial Planning Committee Heinz Valtin said Gore was not invited because he is the vice president, but because he is the author of a book on the problem of world population -- "Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit," which was published in 1992.
"[Vice President Gore's] participation underscores the historic commitment of Dartmouth Medical School to public service in the practice of medicine," College President James Freedman said in a College press release.
Spokesperson for the vice president Roger Salazar said details of Gore's trip to the College have not yet been finalized.
Valtin said he knows Gore will only be visiting the College on Friday and is unable to stay for the rest of the Symposium.
He said his committee is working to televise Gore's speech so people who do not get a seat in Spaulding will be able to see it in satellite locations elsewhere on campus.
Valtin stressed that the symposium is not just for scientists, but also for the general public. He said the invitations sent out to the speakers requested that they prepare speeches appropriate for a mixed audience.
"The lectures and discussions will focus on ethical and social issues interesting and understandable to the general public," Valtin said. "The general public is urged to come."
Valtin said the symposium events do not strictly deal with science, but also with philosophical questions and the invited guests are not all scientists.
"From the word go, we tried to make this a College-wide event, not just Medical School," he said.
Valtin said he is not surprised by the distinguished people who accepted invitations to speak at the symposium.
Valtin said his committee has been planning this event since the fall of 1994 and sent out their invitations well in advance and only received one declining response.
All of the symposium events will take place in Spaulding Auditorium, and seating is first-come, first-serve. There is no charge for any of the sessions except the Saturday evening gala reception and Bicentennial Concert.
Valtin said the symposium is being held during the interim between Summer and Fall terms because that is when the College facilities are available.
The Dartmouth Medical School celebrated its bicentennial this year with many special events, including an exhibit at the Hood Museum and the publication of a history of the school.
The school was founded in 1796 by Dr. Nathan Smith, who founded three other medical schools including Yale's. The fourth oldest medical school in the nation, DMS was the first to serve a rural area.
