Speeches & Lectures
The Summerhays Lecture Series
Fall 2017 Summerhays Lecture
Dr. Alan Ashton spoke at the annual Summerhays Lecture on October 12, 2017. His talk was titled “Light From on High Illuminates Science and Religion.”
Dr. Alan C. Ashton, a former professor of computer science at Brigham Young University, is the co-founder and the former president and CEO of WordPerfect Corporation. He graduated magna cum laude in mathematics from the University of Utah and later received his Ph.D. in computer science from the same university. Ashton co-founded Word Perfect in 1979. In 1995, after WordPerfect was acquired by Novell, Dr. Ashton and his wife Karen founded Thanksgiving Point.
Ashton is a grandson of former LDS Church president David O. McKay. He served a mission to Germany and has served in numerous leadership positions including stake president, mission president, and president of the Provo Utah Temple. He and his wife, Karen, are the parents of eleven children. Other interests are farming, music (trumpet), and competitive tennis.
Click here to view the Fall 2016 Summerhays lecture with Dr. Steven Peck.
What is the Summerhays Lecture?The Summerhays Lecture series, sponsored by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, aims to highlight areas of agreement between science and religion, and to give scholars of faith an opportunity to advance faith-promoting views. All of the presenters are scholars at the top of their fields as well as unapologetic about their religious beliefs.