Veteran SEMO prof Hamner Hill to be given faculty honor; 4 alumni will receives merit awards

Hamner Hill, a philosophy professor at Southeast Missouri State University, will receive the Faculty Merit Award from Southeast's alumni association later this month.

Zaki Ali

Hill, who has taught at SEMO for 36 years, will be honored Oct. 28, along with four Southeast alumni, at the annual Copper Dome Society and Merit Award dinner during Homecoming weekend.

Matt McClelland

According to a news release, in addition to his normal teaching load at the Cape Girardeau campus, Hill has presented scholarly papers internationally in 10 countries outside the U.S. The release also noted that in 2019, Hill was invited to become part of Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, a project endorsed by Tibet's leader, the Dalai Lama.

Kim Woolf

"The project was to try and bring Tibetan Buddhism into the 21st century by educating monks in Western physics, biology and neuroscience," Hill said. "We wanted to introduce logic, critical thinking and the philosophy of science."

Matt Shead

The following alumni will also receive merit awards.

• Zaki Ali, lawyer
• Matt McClelland, CEO/executive vice president, Prairie Farms Dairy
• Kim Woolf, owner, Woolf Properties

This year's distinguished young alumni award will go to Matt Shead, manager of content and advertising promotion for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Copper Dome Society recognizes SEMO donors who give $250 or more annually.