Pulitzer Winner Dr. Edward J. Larson Kicks Off Marvin Stone Lecture Series
By: Stephanie Ghandour | November 18, 2025
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Dr. Edward J. Larson headlined the inaugural Marvin J. Stone, MD Medical History and Humanities Lecture hosted by the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College at The University of Texas at Dallas on Oct. 30.
Larson discussed his book “Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion.” The lecture marked the centennial of the Scopes trial, the landmark 1925 case that challenged the legality of teaching evolution in public schools.
“I hope people enjoy the story. The way something is remembered and how it is told, is itself a product of an interaction,” Larson said. “How people perceive things isn’t always how it happened. In this case, the folklore surrounding the Scopes trial is very different than the facts and what happened.”
The new annual lecture series was born from discussions between Dr. Donal Skinner, dean of the Honors College and Mary McDermott Cook Chair, and Dr. Marvin Stone, former clinical professor of humanities at UT Dallas. Their goal was to provide students with opportunities to learn about medical history apply insights from the past to contemporary practice.
“When I was a young physician, two areas were particularly prominent but lacking in medical school education, namely medical history and the humanities,” Stone said. “Nearly 40 years later, the same two disciplines remain lacking in medical school and post graduate medical education. I was interested in trying to improve the attention given to them on a regular basis, and a lecture seemed to be one way to do so.”
Skinner reflected on a lecture he once attended by Stephen Hawking and spoke about the ways in which students benefit by engaging with distinguished scholars.
“It is exciting to meet these people that I have only ever heard about,” Skinner said. “In that sense I am still a student. There is a lot more than what is in a book. The Marvin Stone Lecture Series is something that will have a lasting impact on students.”
Larson commented on the importance of providing studies with different perspectives on their academic fields.
“Education is about learning. In pre-med you learn about diseases and illnesses and treatments,” he said. “Whenever a lecturer comes in, it further broadens a person. That is what the whole purpose of higher education is.”
Stone felt drawn back to UT Dallas to implement this lecture series after teaching a medical history and humanities honors course with Dr. Dennis Kratz, director of the Center for Asian Studies, senior associate provost and the Ignacy and Celina Rockover Professor.
“We had a wonderful time teaching, and the students put up with us, they were very kind,” Stone said. “That led to the idea of trying to sponsor a lectureship in arts and humanities in the Honors College.”
Skinner and Stone hope that this lecture series will encourage more students to explore the past and themes that they may otherwise not be exposed to in their studies. They also hope that the broader community will enjoy learning from speakers at future lectures.
“I would like this to be of interest not just to students, but also to the community.” Stone said. “I’d like the community to know more about UT Dallas and what goes on here. It is a marvelous place.”
Larson expressed his gratitude and admiration for the University’s goals for the Marvin Stone Lecture Series.
“I am thankful to Dr. Stone for endowing not just this lectureship, but a program in medical humanities. He wants to make better medicine, better doctors and I believe in his dream,” Larson said. “Dean Skinner is a medical historian, which is exciting because you have the synergy of this actively engaged dean who really cares about education and students, combined with the resources provided by Dr. Stone. That’s an opportunity to move ahead.”