COMMERCE, Texas -- A University Convocation honoring Dr. Richard Fulkerson, literature and languages faculty, as a Mayo Professor is set for Thursday, Oct. 6.
The Convocation will be at 11 a.m. in the University Auditorium. All 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. classes will be dismissed so faculty and students may attend.
Faculty are being asked to participate wearing academic regalia.
A reception honoring Fulkerson will be at 3 p.m. in the Founder's Lounge of the Sam Rayburn Memorial Student Center.
"Texas A&M University-Commerce is indeed proud to honor Dr. Richard Fulkerson as the Mayo Professor," A&M-Commerce President Keith McFarland said.
"Dr. Fulkerson has spent over 30 years on this campus teaching countless hundreds of students and actively pursuing his research interests. He is a worthy recipient of the Mayo Professor honor," McFarland continued.
The distinction of Mayo Professor goes to a faculty member for epitomizing Mayo's credo of "ceaseless industry, fearless investigation, unfettered thought, and unselfish service to others."
The Mayo Professor serves for three years and holds the title for the remainder of his or her academic career.
"I'm tremendously honored to be named Mayo Professor, near the end of my teaching career," Fulkerson said. "It's humbling to conceive of following in the footsteps of my colleague, Ann Moseley, as a Mayo Professor and colleague, James "Bo" Grimshaw, who is a Regents Professor.
"I genuinely believe in Professor Mayo's motto of ceaseless industry, fearless investigation, unfettered thought, and unselfish service to others, but they represent ideals I am afraid I have breached more often than achieved," Fulkerson said.
In his career, he has written one book, "Teaching the Argument in Writing," a National Council of Teachers of English bestseller.
A faculty member since 1970, Fulkerson earned a bachelor's degree in math from Southern Illinois University in 1963.
In 1970, he was awarded a doctorate in English from The Ohio State University.
Although his doctorate is in British literature, Fulkerson has focused on teaching composition and argument at A&M-Commerce. He has been director of Graduate Programs in English for the last 20 years.
An active researcher, the professor has also written more than a dozen chapters for academic books on composition and or rhetoric, as well as some 25 articles in refereed journals in the field.
Fulkerson is active in professional organizations and has regularly made presentations at conferences throughout the country.
His wife, Sharon, is director of the A&M-Commerce Career Services Office and formerly served four terms on the Commerce City Commission. They are Commerce residents and have two adult children.
Katherine lives in Sulphur Springs, and Richard lives in Amarillo with his wife, Valerie, and 3-year-old son, Ryan.