Ken Wagener, Butler Chaired Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida, will deliver UNC Asheville’s 27th S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecture. A renowned polymer chemist, Wagener will explore the complex role of plastics in modern life—from their everyday benefits to their environmental challenges—inviting audience discussion on their future in society.

“Southern Indigenous Waters” is the first event in the “Rising Waters: Writing Place and Environment” Thomas Howerton lecture series, a series that puts humanities scholars in conversation with natural sciences scholars about issues affecting us all. On October 30, 2025, Duke hydrologist Ryan Emanuel and East Carolina University literary scholar Kirstin Squint will discuss the centrality of place and water for southern Indigenous people.