MOUNT VERNON — Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich will help Cornell College launch an initiative in the health sciences when he lectures Friday, May 13, at 11 a.m. in King Chapel on “Saving Lives & Saving Money: Transforming Health Care in the 21st Century.”
The lecture is open to the public and will be followed by a book signing. Admission to the lecture is free. Gingrich’s books will be available for purchase at the lecture.
Gingrich’s 2003 book, “Saving Lives & Saving Money,” describes his vision of a 21st-century system of health and health care that is prevention-focused, knowledge-intense, innovation-rich and centered on the individual. Gingrich founded the Center for Health Transformation and serves with former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat from Nebraska, as co-chairman of the National Commission for Quality Long-term Care.
Cornell’s initiative in the health sciences, called Dimensions: The Center for the Science and Culture of Healthcare, is an innovative program for preparing students for successful careers in the health sciences or professions. It combines a strong foundation in the natural sciences with an uncommon infusion of high-relevance course work in the humanities and social sciences, an aggressive integration of experiential learning and professional sculpting resulting in graduates who will become practitioners who heal patients, not merely treat their disorders, and graduates who will play a role in investigating those disorders.
The program was proposed by Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr of Los Angeles, a world leader in hip and joint replacement surgery and a 1963 Cornell graduate who serves on the Cornell Board of Trustees. In March, Dorr took Cornell students Kent Lehr, a junior from West Des Moines, and Jamie Wallace, a senior from Mount Vernon, on a mission trip to El Salvador where Dorr's Operation Walk team of physicians performed knee and hip replacements; two more students will travel with Operation Walk to China this summer.
Biology professor Barbara Christie-Pope is director of Dimensions.
Republican Gingrich was first elected to Congress in 1978 and represented Georgia for 20 years. In 1995, he was elected Speaker of the House, serving until 1999. Time magazine named him Man of the Year for 1995. Currently he is chairman of the Gingrich Group, a communications and consulting firm that specializes in transformational change, with offices in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Gingrich received a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and master’s and doctorate degrees in modern European history from Tulane University. Before his election to Congress, he taught history and environmental studies at West Georgia College for eight years.
Besides “Saving Lives & Saving Money,” Gingrich has written 10 other books, including the best sellers “Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America,” “Contract with America” and “To Renew America.” He is also the author of “ Gettysburg” and “Grant Comes East,” active history studies in the lessons of warfare based on a fictional account of the Battle of Gettysburg and its aftermath. His latest book, “Never Call Retreat: Lee & Grant, the Final Victory,” is the third book in the series. It is due out in June.
