Dorothy Weyer Creigh Distinguished Professorship in History

To Be Announced

Distinguished Professorship in Music

Byron Jensen 

Distinguished Professor of Music, Dr. Byron Jensen joined the Hastings College music department in 2003.  Dr. Jensen has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master’s degree in Music History from Kansas State University, an Honorary Master’s of Humane Letters from Ottawa University, a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and an Associate of Arts degree from Nebraska Western College (now Western Nebraska Community College).

Dr. Jensen teaches courses in music history and instrumental music education, oversees the strings and percussion programs, is founder and conductor of the Hastings College Handbell Choir, and serves as the faculty sponsor for the collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Sigma Alpha Iota. He also serves on the state committee of the Handbell Musicians of America and is concluding his term as state president of the American String Teachers Association. Within the community, he is Conductor/Artistic Director of the Hastings Symphony Orchestra and the Chancel Bell Choir at First Presbyterian Church. He has extensive performance experience on electric and string bass, low brass, and voice, and has conducted all levels of ensembles from elementary programs to college/community orchestras.

Elvena and Hattie Holling Distinguished Professorship in Science

Jim Dugan

Dr. James Dugan, professor of physics and chair of the department, completed his doctoral work at the University of Arizona and received his master of science and bachelor of science degrees from Northern Illinois University.

Prior to coming to Hastings College in 1995, Dugan taught  at Rock Valley College and the University of Arizona. He spent four years at the White Sands Test Facility working for Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company, under contract with NASA. Dugan has been selected as an invited lecturer on several occasions, including being selected twice to give the ALS Invited Faculty Lecture at Hastings College.

Lawrence and Jeannette James Distinguished Professorship in Communication Arts, Business and Economics

To Be Announced

Waldean C. McIntire Distinguished Professorship in Biological Sciences

John Bohmfalk

Professor of Biology and Chemistry, Dr. John Bohmfalk has been a member of the Hastings College faculty since 1993.  He earned his doctorate in genetics and cell biology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and his bachelor's degree in biology at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

Dr. Bohmfalk teaches courses in biochemistry, genetics, cell biology and molecular biology. He has served on a number of committees and was chair of the Faculty Senate from 2005-2008. He was given the Outstanding Advisor Award in 2000. John enjoys music (he sings and plays tuba) and is a pretty good cook. 

Edgar and Frances Reynolds Distinguished Lectureship in Communication Arts, Business and Economics

Douglas Kinnear 

Associate professor of economics Dr. Douglas Kinnear joined Hastings College in 2004. A summa cum laude graduate of Mankato State University, Dr. Kinnear earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics at Colorado State University, where he served as senior lecturer. His areas of academic expertise include labor economics, the history of economic thought, and political economy. Dr. Kinnear co-edited The Collected Works of Edward Everett Hale and co-authored the widely-cited journal article “Unchained Melody: A Price Discrimination-Based Policy Proposal for Addressing the MP3 Revolution.” He has also written many other articles, book chapters, and book reviews and has presented papers at dozens of economics and political science conferences.

An exceptional classroom teacher, he was selected by all-campus vote to deliver one of two Invited Faculty Lectures during the 2009-2010 academic year. Dr. Kinnear has served as president of the Hastings College Faculty Senate and a member of the Faculty Affairs Committee and serves on numerous other committees. He co-advises Hastings College’s chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international economics honor society.

Morton and Ella S. Steinhart Distinguished Professorship in Art
Turner McGehee

Turner McGehee is Chair of the Art Department at Hastings College, where he has taught drawing, printmaking and art history since 1983. Born in Alabama, he studied psychology at Washington and Lee University (BA 1975). He studied drawing and printmaking at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro (MFA 1981).

McGehee is a printmaker and painter who has had more than 30 solo exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad. His work was shown at the Museum of Nebraska Art in 2010 ("It Figures,"an exhibition about the varieties of human figurative art) and in 2009 ("20th Century Nebraska Printmaking"). The Summer 2010 issue of "Prairie Schooner" featured two of his paintings on its cover.

Richard B. and Dorothy K. Tickler Distinguished Professorship in Science 
Dr. Mark Hall

Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Dr. Mark Hall earned his doctoral degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin and his bachelor's degree from the California Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the Hastings College faculty in 2001 he spent ten years teaching mathematics at Chulalongkorn University and Mahanakorn University of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

The recipient of the 2008 Hastings College Faculty Achievement Award, Dr. Hall teaches all areas of computer science and many areas of mathematics as well. He has served on several committees, chairing the Committee for Human Subjects Research and co-chairing the Academic Showcase Day Committee. During his stay in Thailand he advised or co-advised eight master's theses in mathematics and three in electrical engineering; he is currently co-advising two doctoral dissertations with a Thai colleague. His primary interests are symbolic logic, abstract algebra, and systems software.