“Never Say Never” will be the topic of Assistant Professor of Nursing Stephanie Baker’s talk as she delivers the next installment of the Last Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Legacy Hall’s Multipurpose Room at MSU Texas.

Baker grew up in a military family, frequently moving around the country. She graduated cum laude from Indiana’s Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in health science. She earned a Master of Science from the nursing program at East Carolina University in 2009. Baker came to MSU Texas in 2015 and teaches in the traditional and accelerated BSN programs.

In 2007, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Randy Pausch delivered a lecture that was truly his last – he died less than a year later of pancreatic cancer. In his talk, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” he discussed how to find good in others, overcome obstacles, and live generously. His lecture inspired the 2008 New York Times bestselling book, The Last Lecture. Pausch’s story inspired institutions across the country to have “last lectures,” where professors speak about what matters to them as if it were truly their last lecture.

The series was inaugurated at MSU Texas in 2017, with speakers chosen by student and faculty ballots. Associate Professor of Political Science Jeremy Duff presented the inaugural Last Lecture. Associate Professor of English Peter Fields, Professor of Exercise Physiology Frank Wyatt, Professor of Computer Science Richard Simpson, and Theatre Chair Eric Koger have also delivered last lectures.