Dr. Thomas A. Hegna
The 47th Robert W. Kasling Lecture will be offered Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. in SUNY Fredonia’s Rosch Recital Hall.
Dr. Thomas A. Hegna of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences will deliver the lecture, “Teaching Critical Thinking on a Flat Earth.”
Dr. Hegna, a member of the SUNY Fredonia faculty since 2019, earned his B.S. in Geoscience with honors and high distinction, and M.S., from the University of Iowa. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University, and previously held a teaching position at Western Illinois University where he was awarded the WIU Provost’s Excellence Award for Teaching with Technology. Hegna received SUNY Fredonia’s William T. and Charlotte N. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award in 2022, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. He was a team member at both SUNY Fredonia and WIU who were awarded National Science Foundation grants to obtain scanning electron microscopes. Hagan currently is the department chair for Geology and Environmental Sciences, and Physics.
The annual Kasling Memorial Lecture is named for the 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, SUNY 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. The 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.
Also at the event, William T. and Charlotte N. Hagan Young Scholar/Artist Award recipient Professor Czerton Lim of the Department of Theatre and Dance will be honored. Professor Lim earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary with majors in Theatre and Biology, and M.F.A. from the University of Washington. The Hagan award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding recent achievement in research or creativity. The award was named in honor of SUNY Distinguished Professor William T. Hagan, who was an eminent historian. He also served as history department chair and as acting vice president for Academic Affairs.
Lastly, the team responsible for the successful Kraus/Fredonia Conversations in the Disciplines proposal surrounding the “Smart Cities” concept will be recognized. The team includes Drs. Junaid Zubairi and Syed Haider of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, and Megan Johnson of the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
All three honors are funded through endowments established at the Fredonia College Foundation.
The lecture is free, will be followed by a reception, and the public is invited to attend.
