A new campus lecture series will honor retiring faculty members by letting them talk about the subjects that bring them passion.
Tom Wynn, professor, Department of Anthropology, will begin the new series by presenting “The Mosaic of Cognitive Evolution” at 11:30 a.m. May 9 in the University Center Theater. Wynn, a 36-year member of the faculty, plans to retire next fall.
Refreshments are planned to celebrate Wynn and the idea behind the new series, the LAS Lasting Legacies Lecture. All faculty and staff are invited to attend. To reserve space, contact Margie Oldham, assistant to the dean, College of Letters, Arts and Science, [email protected] or 255-4552.
“Dr. Wynn loves his work,” Peter Braza, dean, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said. “We all, the field of archeology as a whole and especially our students, have been the beneficiaries of his dedication and uncanny ability to advance the study of cognition in relation to the study of mankind’s origin.”
Braza plans to introduce Wynn and the idea of honoring retiring faculty before turning the program over. Wynn’s 30 minute lecture followed by questions from the audience will focus on evolutionary studies and, specifically, human cognitive evolution. He will discuss some human abilities that evolved long ago while other abilities were only recently acquired. These theories were published in the 2012 book Wynn co-wrote with Fred Coolidge, professor, Department of Psychology, “How to Think Like a Neandertal.”
Wynn joined the faculty in 1977, hired upon completion of his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, because of his ability to teach courses in both archaeology and biological anthropology. He recently estimated he taught Human Origins, a biological anthropology course, 100 times during his career.
Wynn is credited with establishing the UCCS archaeology curriculum and its first field course. Later, he did an archaeological survey of the USAFA grounds, traveled to Tanzania to study African Paleolithic archaeology and published widely including three books, two edited volumes and countless articles.
In addition to his work as a faculty member, Wynn also held several administrative posts include five years as associate dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, three stints as chair of the Department of Anthropology and chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and Department of Philosophy. Since 2000, he has served as director of the UCCS Center for Cognitive Archaeology which offers online courses taught by faculty worldwide.
Leave a Reply