Three Missouri S&T faculty will serve as University of Missouri System Presidential Engagement Fellows during the 2019-20 academic year. The faculty members will serve as ambassadors in the region and speak to local organizations and communities about their areas of research and expertise. There is no cost for an organization or individual to host a speaker.

Dr. John McManus is a Curator’s Distinguished Professor of history and an expert on U.S. military history, primarily U.S. involvement in World War II, and the author of 12 books on military history. McManus frequently serves as a subject matter expert and has appeared on PBS, CNN, Fox News, C-SPAN, History, the American Heroes Channel, the Discovery Channel and the Smithsonian Network.  Several media outlets recently interviewed him as part of the 75th anniversary of D-Day. He is available to discuss various aspects of U.S. military history and policy, conflict between military leaders and U.S. presidents through history, the American combat experience from World War II through Iraq, and various World War II battles.  

Dr. Audra Merfeld-Langston is an associate professor of French and chair of the arts, languages and philosophy department at Missouri S&T. She won the S&T Woman of the Year award in 2017 in recognition of her efforts to improve the campus for women and minorities. Her areas of expertise include France and the French-speaking world, the teaching and learning of languages, and study abroad. She led a team that established a Latin American Studies for Technical Applications minor at Missouri S&T that includes experiential learning opportunities in Latin America. She is available to speak on any of these topics.

Dr. William (Bill) Schonberg is a professor of civil engineering at Missouri S&T and an expert on “space junk” – the extraterrestrial debris now circling the world that could one day fall to Earth. He’s served as a consultant to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Engineering Safety Center as well as to the United States Air Force. He is available to discuss space debris, the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing or other topics related to space.

To request a Missouri S&T Presidential Engagement Fellow speaker at an event, please visit: umsystem.edu/forms/pef-speaking-request-form.