Salman Rushdie returns to campus this spring in a new role as University Distinguished Professor.

"A Conversation on Liberal Education" on Thursday, March 1 at 4 p.m. in the Jones Room of Woodruff Library will feature Rushdie in conversation with Emory College Dean Robin Forman in a "Life of the Mind" faculty discussion.

Other public events include a "Digital Scholarship Dialog and Discussion with Salman Rushdie," on Friday, March 2 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Research Commons of the Woodruff Library. In conversation with Erika Farr, digital archives coordinator in Emory’s Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL), Rushdie will discuss how technology affects his writing and creative process, and more. This event is hosted by MARBL and the Digital Scholarship Commons.

Among Rushdie's other activities will be participation in "Metaphors and the Mind," a daylong symposium Thursday, March 8 in Cox Hall Ballroom. Rushdie and two other innovative Emory writers, Jim Grimsley and Joseph Skibell, will read from their works and exchange ideas with three leading neuroscientists, Anjan Chatterjee, Seana Coulson and David Kemmerer, who do cutting edge research on language and will present recent findings on relevant brain mechanisms. For more information visit the Center for Mind, Brain and Culture online.

In addition to meeting with various classes, Rushdie will make a guest appearance at an organized marathon reading of his children's book, "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" scheduled for Thursday, March 1 in the Dobbs University Center Coca-Cola Commons, organized by the English department. Students will take turns reading "Haroun" beginning at 1 p.m., with Rushdie appearing around 5:30 p.m. or so to read the conclusion.