Northwestern’s David Figlio to Give Keynote Speech at WWU’s Scholars Week May 15

As the keynote speaker for Western Washington University’s Scholars Week, Northwestern University’s David Figlio will present “How Early Life Conditions Affect People’s Life Chances” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15 in the WWU Performing Arts Center.

 The talk, which is free and open to the public, will discuss how exposure to pollution or natural disasters can have lasting impacts on human capital and health later in life. He will also discuss the potential role of public policy in ameliorating some of these effects.

Figlio is the dean of Northwestern University’s School of Education and the Orrington Lunt professor of Social Policy. He was the Knight Ridder Professor of Economics from 1998-2008 at the University of Florida and earned his doctorate in 1995 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Scholars Week, which runs May 14-18, is an annual celebration of undergraduate research and creative activities at WWU. During this week, departments and programs from all of Western's seven and graduate school colleges stage events demonstrating their students' research or creative activities with their faculty mentors. An all-university poster session will take place in the Wilson Library Reading Room from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, May 16-17.

For more information, visit www.wwu.edu/scholars.