The slithery, slimy, scary creatures most people fear are his specialty.Jeff Corwin is best known for being both the star and executive producer of two television series on Animal Planet, The Jeff Corwin Experience and Corwin’s Quest.

He will speak tonight at 7 in the Special Events Center.

“The title of his lecture is ‘Behind the Scenes of The Jeff Corwin Experience.’ So he’s going to talk about what it’s like to have that show and some of the things that went on in the show that we didn’t necessarily get to see on TV,” University Lecture Series Chair Michael Crump said.

Born in Nova Scotia and raised in Norwell, Mass., Corwin has a lifetime of experience in various fields of biology, ecology and conservation. He addressed the United Nations in 1993 on the need to preserve rainforests and has made numerous expeditions to rainforests around the world.

Corwin has just as much experience in the entertainment realm. He first began his series on Animal Planet in 2000. In addition to the two aforementioned shows, he has made numerous other television appearances, including the CBS Morning Show, Oprah, Extra, The Today Show and CSI: Miami. Corwin won an Emmy in 2004 for best performer in a children’s series.

According to his Web site at AnimalPlanet.com, “Jeff really enjoys speaking publicly about conservation and how animals are surviving in this changing world.”

“The University Lecture Series committee wanted to bring someone who could talk about science and that would be able to bring in an audience of obviously, USF students, but also people from the community,” Crump said.

Corwin received bachelor’s degrees in biology and anthropology from Bridgewater State College. He earned a master’s of science in natural resources conservation at the University of Massachusetts. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate in public education in 1999 from Bridgewater State College.

“Jeff firmly believes that through education and awareness, the natural resources, wildlife and ecosystems that make up our planet will be conserved for future generations,” AnimalPlanet.com states.

“It should be a great event and I think there’s going to be the opportunity for people to talk to him and meet him afterwards. He’s a great speaker and people always like to talk to him,” Crump said.

Following his lecture, Corwin will entertain a question-and-answer session.The event is free and open to students and the general public.