{"id":28015,"date":"2018-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.tarleton.edu\/news\/thompson-to-deliver-this-years-last-lecture-at-tarleton\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T11:34:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T16:34:41","slug":"thompson-to-deliver-this-years-last-lecture-at-tarleton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/thompson-to-deliver-this-years-last-lecture-at-tarleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Thompson to deliver this year’s ‘Last Lecture’ at Tarleton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Last Lecture Series<\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nFriday, August 31, 2018<\/p>\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Casey Thompson, political science instructor, has been selected to deliver the fifth talk in Tarleton State University\u2019s\u00a0Last Lecture Series<\/em>\u00a0at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, on the Stephenville campus.<\/p>\n

The free, public event takes place in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center Auditorium. Doors open at 6 p.m. A reception with light refreshments follows Thompson\u2019s talk, \u201cCitizen Role Model.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Tarleton, the Last Lecture Award is the only faculty honor bestowed entirely by students. Students are invited to nominate a professor who has inspired and influenced their academic pursuits and outlook on life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely humbling that the students want to hear more from me,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n

Thompson has a bachelor\u2019s degree in management from Texas Tech, a master\u2019s with honors in political science from American Public University, and a law degree from Texas A&M University School of Law. Prior to joining Tarleton he was an adjunct instructor at Weatherford and Tarrant County colleges.<\/p>\n

Besides teaching political science, Thompson heads Tarleton\u2019s Town Hall program, designed to improve students\u2019 civic engagement and community involvement.<\/p>\n

Outside the classroom, he is a singer\/songwriter with three commercially available albums to his credit. In fact, his recorded music will serve as a backdrop to Tuesday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

The lecture is free, but tickets are required. They are available at the Center for Instructional Innovation and at the Student Government Office on the lower level of the Thompson Student Center.<\/p>\n

Tarleton students previously selected Dr. Rudy Tarpley in 2017, Dr. James \u201cJim\u201d Gentry in 2016 and Dr. James \u201cJim\u201d Kirby in 2015 after the university\u2019s inaugural presentation by the late Dr. Christopher Guthrie, professor of history and A&M System Regents Professor.<\/p>\n

Tarpley is a professor of agricultural education, Gentry is associate professor of curriculum and instruction, and Kirby a retired professor of mathematics.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Last Lecture Series<\/em>\u00a0invites professors to share what they would say if it were their last opportunity to address colleagues and students. The tradition began in 1955 when six distinguished UCLA professors offered their life philosophy through the lens of discipline, interests and personal experiences.<\/p>\n

Since then, the series has become a tradition at many universities, gaining popularity in 2007 when Dr. Randy Pausch delivered a talk, \u201cReally Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,\u201d at Carnegie Mellon University. Pausch\u2019s lecture\u2014and subsequent book,\u00a0The Last Lecture<\/em>\u2014became famous as he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer with only months to live.
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