LAMAR UNIVERSITY
DISTINGUISHED FACULTY LECTURER
Lamar University honors a faculty member each fall as Distinguished Faculty Lecturer. The series began in 1987.
Current and Past Distinguished Faculty Lecturers
Dr. Jeff Forret - 2021
Jeff Forret is Professor of History and a Distinguished Faculty Research Fellow. His books include Williams’ Gang: A Notorious Slave Trader and His Cargo of Black Convicts (2020), the Frederick Douglass Prize-winning Slave against Slave: Plantation Violence in the Old South (2015), and Race Relations at the Margins: Slaves and Poor Whites in the Antebellum Southern Countryside (2006). His lecture chronicles the story of Washington, D.C., slave trader William H. Williams and his shipment of 27 enslaved convicts to New Orleans in 1840, relating them to the police state of the pre-Civil War South and the current quest for racial justice before the law.
Dr. Bryan Proksch - 2019
Harry James learned to play trumpet while wearing a Magnolia uniform. Come hear about a time when a blue-collar band from Beaumont captivated audiences across all of North America.The Magnolia Band performance was the first thing evertransmitted on KFDM radio. Its director created the first highschool band in Beaumont and led the symphony.
Proksch hosts a music history show, "Behind the Music," on 91.3 KVLU Public Radio, with the goal of making the history of music fun, relevant and accessible to all. Bryan Proksch is associate professor of music history at Lamar. He has published two books, including one on Sousa, as well as numerous essays in leading musicological journals on both the history of bands and classical music.
Dr. M. K. Hamza - 2018
An LU faculty member since 2003, Dr. M. K. Hamza is a professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the Department of Counseling. He is a forensic neuropsychologist and the Mental Health Committee Chair at the Syrian American Medical Society. Hamza coined the term Human Devastation Syndrome in 2016. The term describes the collective and complex human trauma symptoms of which millions of Syrian refugees suffer, particularly the children and youth. Hamza's lecture aims to open a window of awareness, understanding and commitment to address human traumas and psychological injuries to enable these refugees to move on to survival and triumph.
Dr. Sara Hillin - 2017
Associate Professor of English Sara Hillin, an LU faculty member since 2006, presented Flashpoints of Flight: The Enduring Rhetorical Legacy of 20th Century Women Aviators. A decade of research through letters, speeches, news stories and articles sheds light on the rhetorical legacy of early female aviators who promoted their craft and the involvement of other minorities in the field. Hillin discussed how moments of social revolution are revealed through the press of the 20s, 30s and 40s and in female flyers' own writings and speeches. Hillin's personal flying experience adds another dimension to her research about these extraordinary women and how their discourse blazed a path in a technological field.
Previous recipients of this honor include:
Regents' Professor Dr. John Storey-History (1987); Regents' Professor Dr. Bill Pampe-Geology (1988); Regents' Professor Naaman Woodland-History (1989); Regents' Professor Dr. John Carroll (1990); Regents' Professor Dr. Sam Parigi-Economics (1991); Regents' Professor Jerry Newman-Art (1992); Dr. Donna Birdwell-Anthropology (1993); University Professor Dr. Ronald H. Fritze-History (1994); University Professor Dr. James Esser-Psychology (1995); University Professor Dr. Jean F. Andrews-Deaf Studies/Deaf Education (1996); Regents' Professor Dr. James Pizzo-Physics (1997); Walles Chair and University Professor Keith Carter-Art (1998); Dr. Jim Westgate-Geology (1999); Dr. Jim L. Jordan-Geology (2000); University Professor R.S. Gwynn-English and Modern Languages (2001); Dr. Jim Sanderson-English and Modern Languages (2002); Dr. Richard Harrel-Biology (2003); Dr. Terri Davis-Political Science (2004); Dr. Kenneth T. Rivers-English and Modern Languages (2005); Dr. Christine Bridges-Esser-English and Modern Languages (2006); Dr. J. Lee Thompson-History (2007); Dr. Dianna Lipp Rivers-Nursing (2008); Dr. Dorothy Sisk-Professional Pedagogy (2009); Dr. Rafael Tadmor-Engineering (2010); Dr. George Irwin-Physics (2011); Dr. James Esser-Psychology (2012); Dr. Catalina Castillon-English and Modern Languages (2013); Dr. Jerry Lin-Engineering (2014); Dr. Steven Zani-English and Modern Languages (2015), Dr. Julia Fischer-Art History (2016), Dr. Sara Hillin (2017), Dr. M.K. Hamza (2018).