Students can vote for professors to win the opportunity of being the speaker at the fifth Last Lecture Series by going to graduate.ua.edu before Feb. 18.
The premise of the Last Lecture Series is that the professor who is chosen creates a lecture based on this prompt given by the UA Graduate School: If this were your last time to address a group of students, what would you say to them?
According to the graduate school website, a student committee made up of graduate and undergraduate students will select the winner from the nominated faculty. The winner is then given the opportunity to speak at the Last Lecture Series and given a cash prize from the graduate school.
The series got its start in 2007, when Ron Dulek from the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration was chosen. In 2008, students and alumni chose James Salem from the American studies department. Political science professor Utz McKnight won in 2009, and 2010 found its winner in Lawrence Kohl from the history department.
Kohl said being the chosen speaker for the Last Lecture Series was the greatest award he had ever received.
“It is an honor when students want to take your class,” Kohl said. “But it is even more of an honor when a great number of students think that you are worth listening to.”
He said participating in nominations for the Last Lecture Series gives students an opportunity to honor the teachers who have inspired them.
“The Last Lecture Series is a great occasion for somebody to say something important that they usually do not get to say,” Kohl said.
He added that giving his lecture gave him the opportunity to say things and discuss topics that are often not found in his teaching courses on Civil War history at the University.
“Being chosen was terribly satisfying but it did put a lot of pressure on me too,” Kohl said. “It is an honor to get the award but then you have to plan and you do not have much time to prepare and you want to do something worthy. You want to do something that students who chose you would be proud of.”
Ron Dulek, the 2007 winner, said that winning for him was a shock.
“The truth is, I never expected to win,” Dulek said. “There are so many good teachers on campus that I still feel honored and lucky to have been nominated.”
Though being chosen was such an honor, he said, it did not come without some anxiety. After realizing that he would soon be addressing representatives from the entire student body and faculty, Dulek said he considered allowing his stage fight to get the best of him.
“I went into the office of a colleague, Dr. Jim Cashman, and told him I had just been overtaken by stage fright,” Dulek said. “I indicated an intention of possibly running away. He threatened me with physical harm if I didn’t show up, so I appeared as scheduled.”
Dulek said nominating professors for this honor is possibly one of the most important duties students have this semester.
“If you have a professor who is obviously working diligently to help you learn material, if you know a professor who cares about students and learning and wants them to share in that passion, then nominate that professor,” Dulek said. “Everyone likes to be told that they are doing a good job, and nothing sends that message more strongly to a professor than to be nominated for this most important award.”
All of the speeches of the Last Lecture Series can be heard on the UA Graduate School website.
