James Bellis, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame will present a lecture titled “What's Happening to our Family? An Evolutionary Perspective” on Thursday, October 21, at 8 p.m. in the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall, Seton Hill University's Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. The lecture is free to attend and open to the public. Call to reserve a ticket at 724-830-4626. Sponsored by the Greensburg/Uniontown Notre Dame Alumni Club and Seton Hill University, the lecture is a presentation of the Notre Dame Alumni Association’s Hesburgh Lecture Series.

Bellis served as chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame and established the archaeological field school. Additionally, Bellis directed the African Studies Program. His research specialization is the art history and archaeology for West Africa. In 1986, the College of Arts and Letters honored Bellis with the annual Charles E. Sheedy Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Offered each year through Notre Dame’s network of more than 200 alumni clubs, the Hesburgh Lectures are delivered by Notre Dame faculty members nominated by their colleagues and the deans of the University’s colleges and law school. The series is named for Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C, president emeritus of Notre Dame. Father Hesburgh is considered one of the most influential figures in higher education in the 20th century. The recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Medal of Freedom, Father Hesburgh has held 16 U.S. presidential appointments and been a leading force in major social issues, ranging from civil rights to nuclear non-proliferation to Third World development and immigration reform. His stature as an elder statesman in American higher education is reflected in his more than 150 honorary degrees.