Southern Arkansas University professor of history Dr. Ben Johnson will deliver the inaugural installment of The Last Lecture Series at SAU at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2014.
The event will be held in the Reynolds Center Foundation Hall, and is free and open to the public.
The “Last Lecture” tradition is one in which professors are invited to share what they would say if it were their last opportunity to address colleagues and students. The tradition gained popularity in 2007 when Dr. Randy Pausch delivered a talk titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” at Carnegie Melon University. Pausch’s lecture became famous because it really was his last lecture as he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had only months to live.
“When Dr. Johnson was invited to deliver the lecture at SAU, he agreed to do it but asked if someone knew something that he did not,” said Dr. Linda Tucker, associate professor of English. “Be assured that Dr. Johnson is not going anywhere as far as anyone knows.”
Johnson was selected to receive the first endowed professorship in Arkansas studies in 2013.
The John G. Ragsdale, Jr. and Dora J. Ragsdale Endowed Professorship at SAU was established by a couple who is known for their generosity and support of Arkansas history and will benefit Johnson, who has spent decades himself researching and writing about the Natural State.
Johnson earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Arkansas, and has taught in higher education for more than 33 years. He served as Dean of the College of Liberal and Performing Arts at SAU from 2007 to 2011 and was promoted to professor of history in 2010. In addition to the book he authored in 2000, he has written two additional books on Arkansas history. He is currently the vice-chair of the State Review Board of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and has served as vice president of the Arkansas Historical Association. He is also on the board of editors of the Arkansas Historic Quarterly. He and his wife, Sherrel Johnson, reside in El Dorado, Ark.
