CMU Lecture Series
Geist Yancey Lectureship
Speaker: Professor Henry Adams
Title: Hillbilly Rube or Renaissance Man? Conflicting Views of Thomas Hart Benton
Date: November 6, 2025
Bio: Professor Adams is a graduate of Harvard University and received his M.A. and PH.D. from Yale, where he received the Frances Blanshard Prize for the best doctoral dissertation in art history. He is the author of more than 300 scholarly and popular articles, ranging over the American field from the 17th century to the present, as well as about 14 books or book-length exhibition catalogues. Among these are Eakins Revealed, which the painter Andrew Wyeth described as “without question the most extraordinary biography I have ever read on an artist,” and Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock.
In 1985, Prof. Adams received the Arthur Kingsley Porter Prize of the College Art Association, the first time this had been awarded to an Americanist or a museum curator. In 1989, when he was a curator at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, William Jewell College awarded him its distinguished service medal for his services to Kansas City and the Midwest. In 2001, when he was a curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art, he received the Northern Ohio Live Visual Arts Award for the best art exhibition of the year in Northern Ohio. In April 2010, The Beauty of Damage, a Tom Ball/Telos Production film that he initiated and scripted with Tom Ball won the Kodak Best Ohio Short Film at the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival. In June 2010 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Cleveland Arts Prize. In 1989, in partnership with film maker Ken Burns, Adams produced a documentary on Thomas Hart Benton which was broadcast nationally on PBS to an audience of 20 million.
About the lecture series: Dr. Joe Geist was a faculty member at Central Methodist College from 1972 to 1998 and was named Professor Emeritus upon his retirement from teaching. He served as curator of the Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art from 1998 to 2014 and now serves as its registrar. His professional life has been dedicated to the furthering of the liberal arts, culture, literature, and learning.
Mr. Tom Yancey, a 1954 alumnus of Central, joined the faculty in the Swinney Conservatory in 1958. In 1972, he served as the Conservatory's dean, and in 1995 he accepted Professor Emeritus status. In addition to being an accomplished musician, Tom was a well-known artist. Tom, along with Joe, was a co-founder of the Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art and was curator of the Gallery from 1993 until 1998.
The purpose of the Geist Yancey lectureship is to provide a lasting legacy of Joe's and Tom's endless pursuit of the furthering of these pillars of higher education. The lectures will have a theme of cultural affairs, and the speaker shall be a noted/national individual from outside the CMU community.
Funding for this lecture was a gift from Dr. Joe Geist and Dr. Tom Yancey.
Gil and Ruth Fleer Lecture Series
Speaker: Dr. Scott Paeth
Title: Public Theology and Democratic Pluralism
Date: March 25, 2026
Bio: Scott Paeth is a professor of religious studies and peace, justice, and conflict studies at DePaul University. Working in the fields of Christian ethics and public theology, he is the author or editor of eight books and numerous articles. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics. He has lectured around the world, including in Beirut, Lebanon; Pune, India; and Dunedin, New Zealand. Besides his contributions to the academic profession, Professor Paeth is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and he has worked with a wide variety of organizations including SCUPE/OMNIA, Interfaith Playdate, Chicago Interfaith Worker Justice, and the Confessing Christ National Steering Committee. A prolific author and a popular speaker, he has written editorials to a number of newspapers, and was featured on PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. His most recent book is Christianity and Identity: Authoritarianism, Democracy, and Public Theology (Cascade, 2026).
About the lecture series: Former faculty member and sponsor of Alpha Phi Gamma “MOKERS,” Dr. Gilbert “Gil” Fleer '55 and his wife, Ruth Hombs Fleer '58, had a vision to enhance the spirit of excellence at CMU. Their passion for their alma mater where they met, and the love of their son, Jeffrey G. Fleer, led them to make gifts to the University, enhancing the Central experience for students for generations to come.
Fleer was an assistant professor of religion at Central from 1959-65. Before his passing, Dr. Fleer was a social science professor at Western Texas College and a United Methodist counselor. He spent many years counseling young adults in unconventional settings. The couple’s strong support of leadership training led them to fund the Gil and Ruth Fleer Fund for Excellence in Values-Based Education at CMU.
This lecture is funded by the generosity of Gil and Ruth Fleer.
Dr. Thomas A. Perry Faith & Science Lecture Series
Speaker: Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies
Date: April 21, 2026
Bio: Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics and Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility at Oklahoma City University. From 2009 to 2015, Dr. Davies was dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences and Wimberly Professor of Social Ethics at Oklahoma City University. Previously, Dr. Davies was dean of the Wimberly School of Religion at Oklahoma City University and founding director of the Vivian Wimberly Center for Ethics and Servant Leadership. Prior to becoming dean of the Wimberly School of Religion in 2002, he was associate dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma City University and chair of the department of philosophy.
Dr. Davies has published in the areas of Boston personalism, process philosophy and ethics, and ecological ethics. He serves on the United Methodist University Senate, which is “an elected body of professionals in higher education created by the General Conference to determine which schools, colleges, universities, and theological schools meet the criteria for listing as institutions affiliated with The United Methodist Church.” Dr. Davies is currently working on a project with the Interfaith Youth Core, founded by Eboo Patel, assisting United Methodist schools, colleges, and universities to develop and enhance opportunities for interfaith service, dialogue, and cooperation. He and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, Okla., and they have two daughters.
About the lecture series: Thanks to a generous gift from the Rev. Garth Leigh, wishing to honor the memory of Dr. Thomas Perry, longtime chair of the CMC English Department, this lecture has been endowed at the Central Methodist University. Rev. Leigh sponosored a lecture series as a testament to the impact Perry had on generations of students at Central, encouraging them to think deeply, wrestle with greater questions, and challenge themselves to be the best citizens and scholars. The annual lecture will focus on the role that minister-scientists have played in the development of both religious traditions as well as scientific discoveries.
In addition to spending 20 years as chairman of the Department of English at Central Methodist College, Perry also served as chair of the Division of Literature and Languages and of the honors program. He sponsored Scribblers and Scrawlers, a club for aspiring creative writers, hosting and entertaining them monthly in his home. Perry is the late father of Tad Perry, current member of the board of trustees at CMU. Rev. Leigh served as a United Methodist Pastor for many years, and has worked as a freelance writer since his retirement from ministry in 2000. He currently lives in Kansas City, Mo. with his wife, Cheri.
Previous Lectures
