ATHENS - Falling state revenues have led administrators to cut the funding for the University of Georgia outreach program that sent geology professor Raymond Freeman-Lynde and others across Georgia to talk about their research at elementary schools. <br>
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One of the more popular lectures included one by Freeman-Lynde, which he called ``Dinosaurs: Lifestyles of the Big and Famous.'' It included a bontosaurus leg bone. <br>
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Since 1993, Georgians of all ages have gathered on Wednesday nights to meet university teachers and hear lectures on topics as diverse as ``The Lord of the Rings,'' human cloning, rainforest people and the mushrooms of Georgia. <br>
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The program was cut as part of the $105 million reduction to next year's state higher education budget. The program cost about $135,000. It covered travel expenses and $300 stipends for lecturers. Spending of the stipends was restricted to teaching and research expenses. <br>
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In nine years, more than 130 professors visited 99 Georgia counties, speaking to more than 100,000 elementary school pupils and community groups about their research. Each year, more professors signed on for the program and more schools and groups sought out the lectures. <br>
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Freeman-Lynde used his lecture stipends to pay his travel expenses and to buy more casts of dinosaur fossils, which he also uses for his classes in Athens. <br>
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Freeman-Lynde said, ``It's great working with the kids -- it's really amazing how bright they are. And they really like the dinosaurs.'' <br>
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Freeman-Lynde said he and several professors have agreed to keep taking their respective shows on the road, as often as they can, at their own expense.
