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Hendrix to Honor Distinguished Professor at August 31 Convocation

CONWAY, Ark. (August 24, 2017) – Hendrix College sociology professor Dr. Stella Čapek on August 31 will be installed as the Elbert L. Fausett Distinguished Professor of Sociology. The convocation will be held at 11:10 a.m. in Reves Recital Hall, Trieschmann Fine Arts Building.

Established in 1980, the professorship honors Elbert L. Fausett, a leading Arkansas businessman and realtor and long-time friend of the College. Čapek is the fourth Hendrix faculty member to hold the honor. Previous recipients include Dr. George H. Thompson (1980-1991), Dr. Robert C. Eslinger (1997-2004), and Dr. Thomas E. Goodwin (2004-2016).  

Čapek attended Carleton College and Boston University as an undergraduate. She received a bachelor’s degree from Boston University in 1975. After some international travel that included working as an English language editor in Kuwait, she went on to the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a master’s degree in 1981 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1985. She taught at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas for one year before joining the Hendrix faculty in 1986, when she succeeded retiring professor Ferris Baker.

Her courses at Hendrix have covered a wide variety of topics, including sociology of the environment, food, cities, gender, medicine, and social movements, as well as social theory and research methods. Her professional service spans local, state, and national activities, including her election as Chair of the Section on Environment and Technology of the American Sociological Association, her service on the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Arkansas Sociology and Anthropology Association, and numerous campus and community committees. 

Read more about Čapek’s accomplishments

Academic background and bibliography

About Hendrix College

A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu