John \u201cJack\u201d Horner, lecturer and famed paleontological advisor for the first five \u201cJurassic Park\u201d films, is \u201cno longer with\u201d Chapman University, the parting following his appearance in the latest release of Epstein files.<\/p>\n
After retiring from his 33-year tenure as regents professor of paleontology at Montana State University in Bozeman, Horner joined Chapman University in 2016<\/a> as a lecturer and presidential fellow. During his 10 years with Chapman, Horner developed the school\u2019s\u00a0dinosaur lab<\/a> and led research trips to a ranch in Montana to help excavate and study fossils.<\/p>\n But Horner is no longer with the university, Chapman University spokesperson Robert Hitchcock said, though he would not provide any information on how the parting came to be. The Chapman student paper, The Panther, first reported it on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn keeping with standard employment practices, we cannot provide any more information beyond that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Emails recently released by the Department of Justice indicate Horner, who inspired the \u201cJurassic Park\u201d franchise\u2019s Dr. Alan Grant, was a guest at Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s New Mexico Zorro Ranch in 2012 and, during the visit, Horner asked Epstein for project funding while serving as a professor at MSU. It also appears he visited a second time in 2016 with a graduate student as part of a geology tour.<\/p>\n In a statement to a Montana TV station, Horner said \u201cmy decision to pursue him as a donor, was extremely poor judgment\u201d and added he observed \u201cnothing weird or suspicious\u201d during the trip.<\/p>\n Back-and-forth messages in 2012 between Horner and Epstein\u2019s assistant, Lesley Groff, that were released by the DOJ include planning and flight arrangements for visits to the Zorro Ranch for a dig for dinosaur bones, as well as thank you notes and additional information for funding requests.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst off, many thanks for the invitation to your ranch, I had a great time, especially spending time with you and the girls, and seeing your Cretaceous sediments and the old railroad,\u201d Horner said in a Sept. 1 email to Groff<\/a>, who vowed in a response to pass the message along to Epstein.<\/p>\n Horner, in the same message, also thanked Epstein for his \u201cconsidering of funding\u201d for a project summit meeting; Horner attached to the email a proposal for his \u201cDinoChicken\u201d project summit, which he estimated to cost about $15,000.<\/p>\n \u201cI very much appreciate your considering the funding of this meeting. It is obviously the most important first step, and I thank you for suggesting we do it,\u201d Horner said, ending the message with: \u201cPlease give all the girls my very best wishes, and to you, whom I envy.\u201d<\/p>\n On Sept. 19, Horner reached out to Epstein again, this time sending another proposal for the conference<\/a> with a slimmed-down budget of $8,650, and later he extended to Epstein an invitation.<\/p>\n Epstein responded the same day: \u201cgreat, check made to ???\u201d<\/p>\n