Valdosta State University presents the 2006 President's LectureSeries

Valdosta State University's College of Arts and Sciences begins its President's Lecture Series with the first of three key note speakers on January 25, at 7 p.m. in the Hugh C. Bailey Science Center Auditorium, room 1011. Dr. Joel Best, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, will be the first presenter with his lecture entitled "Damned Lies and Statistics."

Best's lecture will focus on how activists, politicians and others use statistics to persuade their audiences. Though the public is bombarded by statistics in the media, Best will teach his listeners how to sort out "good" numbers from the exaggerations.

Best received his master's and doctorate degrees in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his master's degree in history from the University of Minnesota. He has taught at Concordia College, California State University at Fresno, and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Best's research has focused on deviance and social problems, and more recently, on awards, prizes and honors in the American culture. He has also authored nine books, including one titled, "Why Serious People Fall for Fads," which is due out later in 2006.

The two presentations following in the President's Lecture Series are Nathan McCall, "Telling HIStory," on February 2; and Sir Harold W. Kroto, "Architecture in NanoSpace," on February 15. The lectures, taking place during VSU's centennial year, are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the College of Arts and Sciences at (229) 333-5699.