Jane's USA Lecture Tour Begins: Buffalo

Jane's Spring 2010 USA lecture tour kicked off at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York on April 14. Passing by Niagra Falls, Jane drove from Toronto, where she had previous speaking engagements, for a very special lecture -- the first in the United States to mark Gombe 50, a global celebration of Jane's pioneering chimpanzee research and inspiring vision for our future. The lecture was titled Gombe and Beyond: The Next Fifty Years.

With this appearance, Jane inaugurated the first in a special speakers series hosted by Canisius College's Institute for the Study of Human-Animal Relations. Led by Professor Michael Noonan, this program has developed a strong tie to Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program, and has a R&S group on campus.

Canisius' student newspaper, The Griffin, summed up the evening nicely: "As dusk fell over the Koessler Athletic Center Wednesday, hundreds of people stood hours wrapped around Main Street to the Health Science building on Delavan. If a stranger had walked by the Canisius campus, one would have thought that a rock star or renowned athlete was gracing the basketball court." 

JGI merchandise and Jane's books were sold in the foyer of the Koessler Athletic Center. Among the books were the 50th anniversary editions of Jane's classics, In the Shadow of Man and Through a Window.

The venue welcomed over 2,500 people for a SRO event!

The line of students, faculty and members of the Buffalo community stretched around the Canisius College campus.

The Koessler center has hosted many well-known speakers, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and on April 14th -- Jane!

Jane exchanges a friendly fist bump with a local student during the book signing.

With over 2,500 people the book signing lasted for hours. Jane couldn't help but have fun by signing the stool she sat on - for two hours!

Photos and text by John Trybus (JGI)