Dipak Gupta Gives Last Lecture
The political science professor will speaks as part of the Henry L. Janssen Last Lecture Series on Feb. 27.
Each year, the SDSU Honors Council gives a San Diego State professor a chance to give their "last lecture." This year's selection is Dipak Gupta, professor emeritus of political science.
As part of the Sixth Annual Dr. Henry L. Janssen Last Lecture Series, Gupta will give his "last lecture," titled "Random Walk: Life's Journey of an Undisciplined Academic," at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, in the Fowler Family Ballroom at the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.
A stranger in a strange land
Gupta describes his lecture as "a story of how a stranger in a strange land makes it his home. While the story line is familiar, the individual experiences — some painful, some full of delight; some frustrating, some extremely fruitful — through which a young man learns from life is perhaps singular.
"As I get ready to say farewell to an institution that gave me so much, in this lecture I will reflect upon my life as an academic, an instructor, a colleague, a family man and a lifelong student," Gupta said.
Geoffrey Chase, dean of Undergraduate Studies, will welcome attendees, and SDSU Provost Nancy Marlin will introduce the honoree. Ariel Rawson and Levi Lentz served as this year's event co-chairs.
Reserve a seat
To reserve a seat for the lecture and the following reception, please contact Leslie Herrmann at [email protected] or 619-594-6337 by Monday, Feb. 20.
About Gupta
Dipak Gupta is a distinguished professor in the Department of Political Science. He was the Fred J. Hansen Professor of Peace Studies from 1998-2001 and 2004-2011. Gupta is also former director and one of the founders of International Security and Conflict Resolution (ISCOR), an innovative multidisciplinary undergraduate degree program.
Born in India, Gupta received master's degrees in economics from Visva Bharati University in India, and the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his Ph.D. in the area of economic and social development from the University of Pittsburgh.
He is the author of nine books and has published more than 100 articles in scholarly journals and other publications.
He is currently working with a team of economists from Norway, Australia and the World Bank to develop an experimental economic model on the transformation of terrorist groups into organized crime syndicates. The project, "Bridging Areas of Expertise: Funding Research on Terrorism," was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
About the lecture series
The SDSU Honors Council established the Last Lecture Series in 2007 to provide faculty a final opportunity to answer one question in the form of a highly engaging lecture: "if this were your last time to address a group of students, what would you say to them?"
A committee comprised of students, faculty and staff selects the featured lecture from the group of nominated faculty; previous honorees include:
- Henry L. Janssen, professor emeritus of political science (2007)
- E.N. Genovese, professor emeritus of classics and humanities (2008)
- Patricia Huckle, professor emerita of women's studies (2009)
- Anne-Charlotte Harvey, professor emerita of theatre (2010)
- Stephen Weber, president and emeritus professor of philosophy (2011)
For more information about these honorees or transcripts of their lectures, go to honorscouncil.sdsu.edu/last_lecture.html.
Founded in 1989, the SDSU Honors Council is comprised of student and faculty representatives from the University Honors Program and from the five, campuswide multidisciplinary honor societies, including:
- Phi Eta Sigma
- Scholars Without Borders
- Golden Key
- Phi Kappa Phi
- Mortar Board
- Phi Beta Kappa
For more information about Honors Council, go to honorscouncil.sdsu.edu.
