Gould to Give Speech At Duke Commencement

Stephen Jay Gould, the well-known evolutionist and teacher of the Science B course "History of the Earth and of Life," will deliver Duke University's commencement speech this May, Duke officials said yesterday.

Gould, Agassiz Professor of Zoology, is considered a leading scholar in his field and has appeared before the Supreme Court to testify on the creationism vs. evolutionism debate. His numerous books include the award-winning The Mismeasure of Man, published in 1982.

Referring to the commencement address, Gould said yesterday, "I'll start thinking about it two or three days before, that's the way good speeches are made. You speak about what you are most passionately interested in at the moment."

"There was no question, he was clearly our first choice," said Pelham Wilder, Duke University marshall and ex officio commencement committee member. Duke President H. Keith H. Brodie chose Gould from a list of five finalists last May, Wilder said.

The Duke committee selects speakers who have "something to say in the contemporary scene" and "who can say it well," Wilder said. Gould, who will receive an honorary doctor of science degree from Duke, will be the second honoree in 20 years whose background lies in science, Wilder said.

Other recent speakers include Canadian satirist Garry Trudeau, journalist Ted Koppel, industrialist Lee A. Ioccoca and newspaper publisher Katherine Graham.

Gould, who is also a professor of geology at Harvard, has received 22 honorary degrees since joining the University in 1967.

"Gould's interest is eclectic," said Wilder. Duke students have said they are familiar with Gould's work from social science and psychology as well as science, he said.

The Harvard scientist has received dozens of academic and literary awards and heads the Museum of Comparative Zoology's invertebrate paleontology department.