Last fall, the "Last Lecture" Series was inaugurated at Midwestern State University, where professors speak about what really matters to them as if it were truly their "last lecture." Associate Professor of English Peter Fields will deliver his last lecture, "Purpose and Providence," at 7 p.m. Monday, March 19, in Legacy Hall's Multipurpose Room.

The Last Lecture Series features highly regarded professors giving a hypothetical last lecture. Associate Professor of Art Steve Hilton said that introducing this type of series at MSU was something he had wanted to do for some time. When Legacy Hall, MSU's newest residence hall, opened, Hilton became Faculty in Residence at Legacy. He worked with Kristi Schulte, Director of Residence Life, and took student nominations for the first speaker, with resident assistants choosing the finalist. In Fall 2017, Associate Professor of Political Science Jeremy Duff presented the inaugural Last Lecture, "Two Significant Things I've Learned So Far."

Fields completed his Ph.D. at the University of Denver in 1994, specializing in Early English Literature. His book Craft and Anti-Craft in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales featured his own translation of Latin, Old, and Middle English texts. His courses include special topics in fantasy literature, including J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Fields is married to Jacqueline Arroyo-Fields, Writing Proficiency assistant at MSU Texas.

The MSU Texas series is based on a series at Carnegie Mellon University, in which academics spoke as if it were their last chance to tell others what was most important to them. On Sept. 18, 2007, Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch delivered a lecture titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." In Pausch's case, the lecture was truly his last - he died less than a year later of pancreatic cancer. In his talk, he discussed everything he wanted his children to know after he was gone. His lecture inspired the New York Times best-selling book, The Last Lecture, released in 2008.

Contact Hilton at 940-397-4270 or steve.hilton@msutexas.edu for more information.