2025 Les AuCoin Human Rights Lecture : Library display

Pacific University welcomes acclaimed author and investigative journalist Jeff Goodell to Forest Grove for a special presentation on the imminent impacts of climate change.

Goodell is a noted expert on humanity’s fraught relationship with our rapidly changing planet. In his latest book, The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet, he investigates the impact that soaring temperatures will have on our lives and on our world.

As the inaugural speaker for Pacific’s Les AuCoin Human Rights Lecture, Goodell will pair these urgent threats with optimistic hope for how we can combat one of the most important humanitarian issues of our time.

Join this critical conversation focusing on climate change, public health, and human rights. Tickets are free but required for planning purposes. Tickets are available at pacificu.edu/Goodell.

Following the lecture, copies of The Heat Will Kill You First will be available for purchase and signing.

Visit the Libraries' booth at the event to explore a curated collection of additional reading connected to the lecture's themes. We also have several print copies of The Heat Will Kill You First available to check out, and there is a link to the ebook version below:

EVENT DETAILS

Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Sept. 30, 2025

Place: McCready Hall, Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus
Tickets: Free and required — pacificu.edu/Goodell

Directions: Google Maps Directions

Campus Map: pacificu.edu/map
 

ABOUT THE AUCOIN LECTURE

The Les AuCoin Lecture is named for Pacific University alumnus, former U.S. Rep. Les AuCoin ’69, honoring a career spent championing critical conversation, environmental protection, and humanitarian rights.
 

RELATED OPPORTUNITIES

The Boxer Book Club will read Goodell's "The Heat Will Kill You" in September. Provost Barb May will lead a virtual discussion on Sept. 27  and an on-campus discussion Sept. 30. Alumni, students, employees, and friends are invited to register and participate.

Goodell also will meet with undergraduate and graduate level Pacific University students during the day Oct. 1 for private discussion and Q&A opportunities.

Books on this display include themes of:

• The human impact of climate change
• Climate change preparedness & mitigation
• Environmental justice & activism
• Fictional accounts of climate futures
• Political & economic aspects of climate change
• Weather & natural disaster studies

See the Books on Display tab for the full title list.

All books on display are available to check out.