CHAPEL HILL -- The Rev. Peter Gomes, a visiting professor at UNC and Duke University, will deliver a free public lecture titled "The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?" April 9 at 7 in the auditorium of UNC's Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building on Pittsboro Street.

Gomes, a professor at Harvard Divinity School, holds the Nannerl Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professorship at Duke and UNC for the spring semester. An American Baptist minister, Gomes is the Plummer professor of Christian morals and Pusey Minister at Harvard University's Memorial Church in Cambridge, Mass.

In addition to being regarded as one of America's most distinguished ministers, Gomes has written several best-selling books and participated in the presidential inaugurations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

He has received honorary degrees from 36 colleges and universities, including UNC and Duke. Gomes engaged an enthusiastic Kenan Stadium audience when he delivered Carolina's May commencement address in 2005.

Wednesday's lecture is part of the responsibilities of Keohane visiting professor. Each year, the recipient is invited to deliver one public lecture or performance.

The Keohane professorship, established in 2004 by UNC Chancellor James Moeser, recognizes the contributions of former Duke President Nannerl Keohane and the unprecedented level of collaboration she and Moeser created between the two institutions. It is one of 208 endowed chairs made possible through UNC's Carolina First Campaign, a fund-raising drive that raised more than $2.38 billion by Dec. 31, 2007.