Professor Stuart Wentworth was nominated to give the “Final Lecture” to the graduating class of 2015 on April 8.
The engineering professor decided to give the lecture on what he called his area of expertise. Wentworth based the lecture off of the ABET Student Outcomes, something commonly learned by all engineering students. The two points of the ABET Student Outcomes that he focused on were communicating effectively and lifelong learning.
Wentworth did not know that he was nominated to give the final lecture until one of his students congratulated him on it.
“I really didn’t know what it was, so my first reaction was one of confusion and wondering if I was actually giving a last lecture," Wentworth said. "I didn’t know that didn’t sound right because I‘m pretty sure my department chair would have warned me."
Wentworth was not only surprised because he did not know what exactly he was selected for, but also that an engineering professor won such an award.
“It was a really big honor and a big surprise. I find it surprising and rare that an engineer would be selected," Wentworth said. "It seems more like that someone from another department would be selected."
James Neer, senior in electrical engineering, had Wenworth as a professor and describes him as veru friendly and helpful.
“He interacts very well with the students," Neer said. "He’s one of those professors that you can go outside of class and ask him questions. A lot of the time for electromagnetism, which he wrote a book on, you can go to him outside of a class even if he’s not teaching it and ask him questions and he’ll be happy to answer."
Professor Wentworth stands out to his students by having an easy-going personality and wearing Hawaiian shirts everyday. Many of his students in attendance chose to wear Hawaiian shirts as well. Karen Vincent, senior in electrical engineering and student of Wentworth, said he overall an awesome professor.
“Stu is awesome,” Vincent said. “He’s really funny and always wears Hawaiian shirts which is why there’s a ton of people wearing Hawaiian shirts here. He’s very friendly and tends to remember your name.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
