CONWAY, Ark. (July 17, 2012) - Physician and psychologist Dr. Leonard Sax, respected author and commentator on gender differences and the modern world, will be this year's Willson Lecture keynote speaker on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in lecture room A of the Mills Center on Hendrix campus.
Sax has written several books on the modern world and gender differences, including Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Gender Differences, Boys Adrift and Girls on the Edge. He has also provided op-ed pieces and expert commentary to news outlets like the New York Times,TheWashington Post, and the TODAY Show.
A Shaker Heights, Ohio native, Sax graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology and his medical doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing his residency in family practice in Lancaster, Pa., he began a family medical practice in Montgomery County, Maryland, and practiced in the same small community for 18 years.
In 2008 he decided to retire from medical practice to devote himself to his family and his study of gender differences. As part of that work he visits schools, leads professional workshops, and helps run The Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development.
He is also a co-founder of The Association for Choice in Education, a group dedicated to supporting girls' and boys' schools in the public and private sectors, and providing parents with the option of single-sex schooling.
For more information on Sax, visit his website.
Sax will speak after the 28th Steel-Hendrix Award Banquet. This year the banquet will recognize Rod Hocott with the Youth Minister of the Year Award, Doni Martin with the Ethel K. Millar Award for Religion and Social Awareness, and Karen Swales with the Mary and Ida Brumley Award for Religious Education.
Hocott has worked in youth ministry for 44 years, and is currently serving as the minister to middle school youth at First United Methodist in Conway.
Martin runs a non-profit childcare center in Pocahontas and has been a dedicated member of her church and community, providing her time and aid to families and organizations.
Swales helped to found the Conference Council on Children's Ministry within the Methodist Council in Arkansas, and serves as the children's ministry coordinator for the Conference and as the minister to children and families at First United Methodist in Springdale.
The banquet is open to the public, at a cost of $20 per plate to those who register before September 10th. The cost at the door is $25.
For more information or to register to attend, contact Rev. J. Wayne Clark, Hendrix Chaplain, at clark@hendrix.edu or at (501) 450-1263.
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. Hendrix was named the country's #1 "Up and Coming" liberal arts college for the third consecutive year by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2011 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country's best 376 colleges and is listed in the 2012 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges as one of 25 "Best Buy" private colleges included. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.