Discover the seemingly unlikely connection between Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and the giant ground sloths of Nevada at the next University Forum lecture, set for Sept. 20.

UNLV geoscience professor Stephen Rowland will explore the link between the history of science in America and the record of vertebrate fossils in Nevada in his slide-illustrated presentation on "Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and Ice-Age Ground Sloths of Nevada."

The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History.

On Sept. 28, Ken Rudin, political editor for National Public Radio and columnist at the washingtonpost.com, will lecture on "Election 2000: The Presidency and the Congress."

Rudin will discuss the polls, the issues, and the candidates in the upcoming national election, as well as the groups and dynamics that could determine its outcome.

The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Koch Auditorium of the Classroom Building Complex, Room A-108.

All University Forum lectures are free and open to the public. The University Forum lecture series is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and is underwritten by the UNLV Foundation.

For more information on the series, call 895-3401 or send an E-mail to: forum@nevada.edu.