Bioethicist Glenn McGee Kicks Off Sagan National Colloquium

August 30, 2001

DELAWARE, OHIO -- Dr. Glenn McGee, associate director and professor of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, and editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Bioethics, kicks off Ohio Wesleyan's Sagan National Colloquium public affairs series on Wednesday, Sept. 5. His lecture, titled "The Human Cloning Debate: Ethical and Other Implications of the New Biotechnologies" is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Gray Chapel on Ohio Wesleyan's campus. Dr. McGee arrives at OWU as the David H. Smith Distinguished Lecturer, named for OWU's distinguished alumnus and scientist. Dr. McGee's lecture introduces the semester-long Colloquium, with its theme, this year, on Science: It's Not Just for Scientists Anymore.

A bioethicist with a B.A. from Baylor University and a Ph.D. in American philosophy from Vanderbilt University, Dr. McGee is "leading the new generation of bioethics research." Dr. McGee's scholarly work, has appeared in such publications as JAMA, Nature Genetics, British Medical Journal, Science, Hastings Center Report, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He is the author of several best-selling books, including The Perfect Baby, The Human Cloning Debate, (including "A Model for Regulating Cloning" co-authored with Dr. Ian Wilmut, the scientist who successfully cloned Dolly the sheep in 1996), Pragmatic Bioethics, and his newest work, Being Genomic, which is due out in 2002. In addition, Dr. McGee writes articles for numerous newspapers nation-wide and has appeared frequently on Today, 60 Minutes, Oprah, Good Morning America, All Things Considered, and The News Hour. He is a regular columnist on MSNBC.com.

Dr. McGee has helped governments and corporations find their way through the "difficult web of bioethics and technology," and is a trusted advisor to leaders in religion, science, and health policy. He heightens awareness of complicated relationships between biogenetics, biotechnology, advanced treatments and the clash of these advancements with ethical and moral standards of society.

The Sagan National Colloquium is in its 16th year at OWU. Lectures are free of charge and open to the public. For more information, call the Office of University Communications at 740-368-3339 or visit snc.owu.edu.