SHERMAN, TEXAS — Austin College will host the Faculty Symposium, “New Horizons in Higher Education,” on Thursday, November 5, at 11 a.m. in Ida Green Theatre of Ida Green Communication Center. The event is free and open to the public. 
The symposium is part of inauguration activities in advance of the official installation of President Marjorie Hass at 5 p.m. that afternoon. Dr. Hass, the 15th president of Austin College, began duties at the College on July 1, 2009. The theme for the inauguration is “New Horizons.”  

Austin College faculty David Baker, associate professor of physics; Jacqueline Moore, professor of history; and Don Rodgers, associate professor of political science, will speak as representatives of each academic division of the College. 

Baker will address “New Horizons in the Sciences,” and will look at issues “from monitoring weather on Mars to discovering new planets orbiting distant stars to understanding our impact on our own planet—the rare planet Earth,” he said.

“New Horizons on the Past” will be the focus of Moore’s comments. “The cowboy is a masculine icon of our time but what did the historic Texas cowboy himself think was masculine?” Moore said of her comments. She also will talk about using old sources for new purposes, and answering the question: “Just how big is Texas anyway?”

Rodgers comments on “New Horizons in Higher Education” will focus on the joys and benefits of working with students on research projects. He will talk about faculty-guided and student-faculty collaborative research and share some of his own experiences with students as well as the students’ very impressive research projects.

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges that Change Lives.