'Peace, Love, and Polio' Presentation Scheduled for March 19, 2026

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Part of the Ideas and Conversations series. Dr. Doug Christensen and Gary and Gretchen Bren will be the featured speakers.

What does peace and love have to do with polio? Find out during an evening of local and global experts, engaging activities, and resources to help bridge understanding about a disease the world hopes to one day eradicate during “Peace, Love, and Polio” from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Kanter Student Center’s Niobrara Room at Wayne State College. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend and participate. The presentation is part of the Ideas and Conversations series.

Speakers for the event will include Dr. Doug Christensen, professor of biology at Wayne State, with expertise in immunology and molecular biology, providing the scientific context for the fight against viruses. He is also chair of Wayne State’s Life Sciences Department and a member of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Golden Key National Honor Society, Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society, and Phi Kappa Phi. He also serves as the contact for the medical lab sciences program in Wayne State’s Rural Health Opportunities Program.

Gary and Gretchen Bren will share Rotary Club's mission to eradicate polio, their work doing immunization days around the world and Rides to End Polio, and the challenges of global conflicts affecting immunization and eradication efforts.

Food and beverages will be provided, and the Wayne State choirs will close the evening with their poignant medicine of music.

For more information, contact Dr. Barbara Engebretsen, professor of One Health Studies and exercise science at Wayne State, at [email protected] or 402-375-7044.

The event is hosted by Wayne State’s public and global health students, Wayne State’s Service-Learning Program, the Rotary Club of Wayne, and Wayne State Rotaract Club.