By Marcus Jensen
PRICE, Utah — Utah State University Eastern has announced a new speaker series that will begin the upcoming fall semester. The series will be called From Book Cliffs to Blanding: A Panoramic History of Eastern Utah and will feature various USU Eastern faculty.
“The ‘From the Book Cliffs to Blanding: A Panoramic View of Eastern Utah’ series is a testament to the collaborative work being done at USU Eastern,” said Doug Miller, chief campus administrator at USU Eastern. “It is a showcase of tremendous faculty, our commitment to the region, and an emphasis on the importance of the purpose and place of rural Utah.”
Faculty will give presentations on topics related to the rich history of Eastern Utah and Castle Valley. All presentations will be free to the public. The first presentation will be on Sept. 11 and six presentations will be given in total. All presentations in the fall will be held in the Central Instruction Building, room 101 at 6 p.m.
“This is an amazing opportunity to highlight Price and Eastern and the stories that can be told about our community and land that is our backyard,” said Michael Harris, head of USU Eastern & Statewide Library Services.
The final speaker will be Terry Tempest Williams, an award-winning author who resides part time in Castle Valley, Utah. A strong advocate for free speech, Williams has consistently shown how environmental issues are social issues and takes an ethical stance toward life. She has testified before Congress on women’s health issues and has worked as a “barefoot artist” in Rwanda, among many other projects. Her writing has been featured in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Orion Magazine and other anthologies as a voice for ecological consciousness and social change.
“I am excited to not only feature some of the amazing faculty from USU Eastern, but also welcome author and educator Terry Tempest Williams, who lives in Castle Valley, as we consider and discuss the past, present and future of Eastern Utah,” Harris said.
Williams’ presentation will be in the Geary Event Center.
The From the Book Cliffs to Blanding: A Panoramic View of Eastern Utah series is presented by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, USU Eastern Learning and Library Commons, and the Merrill-Cazier Library. All events begin at 6 p.m.
From the Book Cliffs to Blanding: A Panoramic View of Eastern Utah
- Sept. 11: Evey Gannaway Dalton (assistant professor, geology)
- Oct. 23: Josh Lively (curator of paleontology, USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum)
- Nov. 12: Sunshine Brosi (associate professor, wildland resources)
- Feb. 12: Tim Riley (museum director, USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum)
- March 18: Nichelle Frank (assistant professor, U.S. history)
- April 7: Terry Tempest Williams (special guest presenter)