Leading Public Intellectual Steven Pinker to Headline 2018 Lovett C. Peters Lecture in Public Policy
Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard, Bestselling Author to Be Honored at Pioneer Gala & 30th Anniversary Celebration
Contact Micaela Dawson, 617-723-2277 ext. 203 or mdawson@pioneerinstitute.org
BOSTON – Tonight, Dr. Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, will provide the keynote remarks at Pioneer Institute’s 2018 Lovett C. Peters Lecture in Public Policy, “Seeming Turmoil in a World of Progress.” Before an audience of over 200 Pioneer supporters, Professor Pinker will share findings from his new book on the empirical evidence of global progress.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the negative news cycle and succumb to the notion that the world is in crisis,” said Jim Stergios, Pioneer Institute Executive Director. “Dr. Pinker offers a welcome reminder that we are far better off today than ever before, and that humanity’s progress shows no sign of slowing.”
Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestseller Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (2018).
Professor Pinker has won numerous prizes for his research and teaching. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.”
2018 marks Pioneer Institute’s 30th anniversary. As part of the dinner program, Pioneer will pay tribute to its generous supporters and review some of the organization’s most impactful milestones in the areas of education, healthcare, government efficiency, and economic opportunity. Guests will be treated to a special performance by “America’s Got Talent” finalist, the City of Lynn’s own Amanda Mena.
The annual Lovett C. Peters Lecture, named for Pioneer Institute’s founder and long-time chairman Lovett C. “Pete” Peters, is one of Pioneer’s most memorable events, and recognizes individuals of vision whose ideas are transforming our world. Past Peters Lecture speakers include Sal Khan, Peter Diamandis, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey, Niall Ferguson, Eva Moskowitz, and Deepak Srivastava. The event is open to Pioneer Members.
Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government.
