ST. GEORGE — Designed to introduce the Southern Utah community to diverse ideas and personalities while widening their world views, Utah Tech University’s weekly lecture series, “University Forum” is getting underway for the fall 2022 semester.
“The University Forum is a long-held and wonderful tradition here at Utah Tech,” University Forum Chairman John Burns said in a news release. “Our mission is to help attendees experience a window on the world with a goal of igniting a hunger and thirst for curiosity-based life-long learning.”
The 50-minute presentations take place at noon most Tuesdays of Utah Tech’s academic semester in the Dunford Auditorium, located in the Browning Resource Center on the UT campus. Admission is free, and the public is encouraged to attend.
“Bring a friend or 10, an enemy, a relative, a neighbor or anyone you know,” Burns said. “These guest speakers are not to be missed and have most graciously set time aside to be on our campus to share their research and knowledge with us. Join us for a season of fascinating topics and captivating guests.”
University Forum aligns with the university’s strategic goal to establish the community as a university and provide Southern Utah with educational resources and learning opportunities, the news release said. The goal is part of the university’s five-year strategic plan, Trailblazing Distinction, which is guiding the institution’s growth as it works toward becoming the nation’s first open, inclusive, comprehensive, polytechnic university.
Those who wish to receive details about each guest each week to send an email with preferred email address to University Burns at [email protected].
The complete lineup for the Fall 2022 semester includes:
- Date: Sept. 13
- Speaker: Celia Bertoia, director and founder of The Harry Bertoia Foundation
- Topic: The Sculpture of Harry Bertoia and The Harry Bertoia Foundation
- Date: Sept. 20
- Speaker: Dr. James J. A. Blair, assistant professor in the Department of Geography & Anthropology at Cal Poly Pomona
- Topic: Lithium Mining
- Date: Sept. 27
- Speaker: Lisa Barrett, professor in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University
- Topic: The Brain and How Emotions are Made
- Date: Oct. 4
- Speaker: Richard De La Cruz
- Topic: Functional Genomics Program at Utah Tech in Collaboration with Intermountain Precision Genomics
- Date: Oct. 18
- Speaker: Dr. Shingo Kajimura, associate professor of medicine in the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School
- Topic: Obesity and Brown Fat
- Date: Oct. 25
- Speaker: Dr. Nancy R. Cook, a professor in the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Topic: Sodium in the Human Body
- Date: Nov. 1
- Speaker: Dr. Gad A. Marshall, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School
- Topic: Advancements in Alzheimer’s Disease Research
- Date: Nov. 15
- Speaker: Hank Greely, the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law at Stanford University
- Topic: Bioethics of Growing Human Organs
- Date: Nov. 29
- Speaker: Dr. Patricia Hills, professor emerita in the Department of History of Art & Architecture at Boston University and director of Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné
- Topic: Eastman Johnson, 19th-Century American Re-Presentation for the 21st Century and the Language of Racism