Friends, book club members host discussion in honor of Terry Dilley
Published 10:26 am Monday, October 5, 2015
Dr. Mark Borello of the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences speaks during the first Terry Dilley symposium Saturday morning on the second floor of the Austin ArtWorks Center. Jason Schoonover/jason.schoonover@austindailyherald.com
A legacy in sharing ideas
An Austin educator’s legacy is being carried on in a fitting way — by sharing ideas.
The first Terry Dilley Symposium attracted about 50 people to the second floor of the Austin ArtWorks Center Saturday morning for Dr. Mark Borello’s talk called “Unselfish Genes: Altruism and Evolution.” The event was named in honor of former Riverland Community College professor Terry Dilley, who passed away on April 25, 2014, at age 73.
“I’m super impressed,” Borello said. “I think it’s really heartening in a way that professor Dilley is clearly someone who had an impact on these people.”
John Beckmann said he and other members of Dilley’s longtime Great Books Club formed the Terry Dilly Symposium as a nonprofit LLC. It’s led by volunteers whose only goal is to pay dividends through intellectual pleasure.
Beckmann described Dilley as a great teacher who sought out great ideas. That’s why a group of his friends — many of them members of his book club — started the symposium as a way to honor that legacy.
“We thought about doing something to commemorate Terry’s contributions to the community,” Beckmann.
Dilley, Beckmann said, was always interested in science and the history of ideas, and organizers though Saturday’s talk would have been one he would have enjoyed.
Terry Dilley and his partner, Marijo Alexander, pose on a trip to an airplane museum in New York. Dilley, who taught at Riverland for 47 years, passed away on April 25, 2014. A symposium was held in his honor Saturday at the Austin ArtWorks Center. Read more about Dilley’s life at www.austindailyherald.com/?p=612072. Photo provided.
“He was a man of great and exemplary kindness, knowledge and wisdom, and this symposium celebrates and remembers his contributions to the community of Austin,” Beckmann said.
In fact, the subject of evolution hearkens back to a debate Dilley took part in about 15 years ago at Austin High School.
Borello, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s College of Biological Sciences and History of Science & Technology, presented on altruism in evolution.
Borello’s talk focused on a different side of evolution. While evolution is often famous for the survival of the fittest, Borello talked about how cooperation can often be revealed in nature. While evolution often focuses on the “struggle for existence,” Borello talked about the idea of the “snuggle for existence.”
Though Borello never met Dilley, he was impressed by what he’s heard.
“He sounds like a pretty amazing guy,” Borello said.
The Terry Dilley Symposium group plans to host similar events annually, and Beckmann was pleased with Saturday’s turnout.
