Robert W. Kasling Memorial Lecture Award

Award

The annual Kasling Memorial Lecture is named for Robert W. Kasling, professor of geography at SUNY Fredonia from 1946 to 1966, who, by his own fine example, fostered in others that unflinching personal integrity and high standard of scholarship for which he is especially remembered. In honor of the contribution which he made to the institution he served so well, the State University of New York at Fredonia each year invites a distinguished member of its faculty, one whose scholarly excellence has enhanced the reputation of the university, to share with the entire Fredonia community an insight into the nature and significance of research or creative activity in his or her field. These lectures, focused on explaining the methods, purposes, and results of a particular area of scholarship, are intended to broaden the understanding of research being undertaken at Fredonia.

Kasling Award is a significant campus honor that has now been a tradition at Fredonia for over thirty years. The winner of the award is invited to present a lecture to a campus audience in October.

This lectureship permits members of the university faculty to present to a general audience aspects of their scholarly and/or creative interests. The lectures, which explain and examine the purposes, methods, and results of a particular area of scholarship or creativity, are intended to broaden the understanding of research being undertaken at Fredonia. The Kasling Award is also accompanied by an increase of $1000 to the recipient's base salary.

All faculty members are eligible to apply. The selection committee's judgment will be based on scholarly and/or creative excellence.

Procedure

The nomination letters should refer to the criteria used to establish the scholarly and/or creative qualities of the nominees' work. All applications should include the following:

1. A Curriculum Vitae
2. A letter of nomination or self-nomination. In either case the letter should include a description of the nominees' accomplishments, the major areas in which they have worked, and what they believe is significant and valuable in their scholarly work.
3. Copies of published reviews of nominees' publications, performances, or creative endeavors.
4. In addition to the letter of nomination, two letters of professional recommendation, at least one of which is an outside letter. At least one of these letters should assess the quality of the venues of the nominees' work. (Please note: It is not required that the department chair be one of the letter writers. Moreover, no special significance will be placed on letters written by department chairs.)
5. A maximum of two examples of scholarly and/or creative work.

The complete files should be submitted to Kasling Committee, c/o Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The deadline varies, but it is usually in March every year.

Kasling Memorial Lectures