First impressions have their place, but how many chances do you get to make a last impression that, well, lasts?
Campus Life's Last Lecture series starts Wednesday, Jan. 30, and gives four distinguished EMU faculty a chance to give one lecture as if it were their last.
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Patrick |
The free series runs through April 1 and includes lectures by Communication and Theatre Arts Professor Dennis Patrick, Psychology Lecturer Pamela Landau, English Language and Literature Professor Marty Shichtman, and Communication and Theater Arts Professor Judy Sturgis Hill. All lectures are at 7 p.m. in the Student Center Auditorium.
"It makes you think," said Patrick, whose lecture Jan. 30 will be the first of the last. "Wow, what would be the final thing I would want to say as a professor? It makes you think about what's important to you, what you really value and what you want to share with others."
Patrick plans to talk about a set of issues that are near and dear to him both professionally and personally — foster parenting, adopting and being a gay parent.
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Landau |
He and his partner have four adopted sons who were all foster children at some point. They've fostered another dozen in the last seven years. His research at EMU — on relational and family communication, and how words influence identity development in gay, lesbian and adoptive families — parallels a lot of his personal experiences.
"I think there will be elements of my research in (the lecture) but, anytime I have a captive audience like that, I talk about the number of children in foster care awaiting families, which is something I probably wouldn't do in a class."
"I'm always looking for ways I can be an advocate, and this seems like a great opportunity."
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Shichtman |
Student and faculty recommendations helped determine the last lecture lineup, and the series gives some of EMU's most engaging faculty a chance to connect with students, not just academically, but ideologically.
Landau, who will lecture March 4, teaches psychology and the psychology of sex. A practicing clinical psychologist and an EMU graduate herself, she's been teaching at the university since 1982.
Shichtman, who will present the March 25 lecture, teaches Jewish American literature and culture, and middle English Literature. He's working to develop a Jewish Studies minor at EMU, including a course that examines the historical struggle for control of Israel.
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Sturgis Hill |
Sturgis Hill teaches courses in public speaking and interpersonal and family communication, but infuses everything she does with a passion for diversity. In 2005, the University recognized her with an Institutional Values award for her dedication to acceptance, tolerance and multicultural understanding.
"I know a professor who spoke last year that I have a class with this year, and he said, '"I don't know how you choose them, but you have some amazing selections,'" said Natalie Myers, Campus Life student coordinator. "They can talk about anything they want, and they're encouraged to talk about anything they want."
