Convocations

Additional Speakers/Presentations

This page will be updated throughout the semester, with significant updates at the beginning of the semester.

This page is updated almost every week, so check back often! These presentations are open to the public. Many events listed on this page are not sponsored by SUU and are publicized here as a community service.

If you would like to have your event considered for inclusion on this page please contact Jeb in the Student Success Center at 435.586.5419 or via email at branin@suu.edu Events should be free or low cost and should be open to the public.

The speakers and presenters on this page can be used by 2010 students and Orientation (UNIV1010) students (with instructor permission) to fulfill a Convocation Assignment as a "make up" for not being able to complete a regular assignment.

If you attend for Convocations 2010 or University Orientation (UNIV1010) credit, turn in the correct completed reflection sheet to the Student Success Center within two days of the event. Convocation class Reflection Sheets ----- Orientation class Reflection Sheets.

PLEASE NOTE: A maximum of four make-up assignments may be used in place of regular assignments in the 2010 classes. I will NOT accept more than four alternate assignments if you are taking the Convocations class.

Art Insights Series

The Art Insights lecture series are presentations by professional artists giving insights into their crafts.

You can attend any Art Insights presentation as a make-up for Convocation. A list of presentations for this semester can be found here.

Most Art Insights presentations are Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM in the J.L. Sorenson Physical Education Building, room 101. However, be sure to check the Art Insights Website for complete details.

Biology Seminars

The Biology Seminar lecture series are presentations by biologists from both on and off campus and is sponsored by the College of Science, the Department of Biology and the Jack H. Berryman Institute.

You can attend any Biology Seminar presentation as a make-up for Convocation.

Most Biology Seminar presentations are Wednesdays at 5:00 PM in SC 214. A complete calendar of Biology Seminars can be downloaded here and any seminar can be used as a Convocation make up assignment.

SUUSA Senate Meetings

The SUUSA Senate helps to allocate a portion of your student fees and you, as a student, can have a voice in what those monies will fund through your senate representatives. The senate passes other pieces of legislation as well, such as resolutions and recommendations.

The Senate meets every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Basin Room or the Living Room in the Sharwan Smith Center. You can attend any Leavitt Center Symposium as a make-up for Convocation. More information can be found here.

Wells Fargo Executive Speaker Series

You can attend any lecture, discussion, or event that is part of this series which is hosted in the School of Business.

For more information call the School of Business at 435-586-5401.

Iron Mission State Park

You can attend any lecture, discussion, or event at Iron Mission State Park.

For more information visit the park's calendar of events.

CIET-College Seminar

Of specific interest to students interested in Mathematics, Engineering, Technology, Applied Research, and other areas of emphasis in CIET.

You can see a complete schedule here.

Women's Week

Attend any lecture or presentation for Women's Week. The website is here and you can download a complete schedule here.

Native American Week

Attend any lecture or presentation for Native American Week. For information and details contact the Multicultural Center.

Free Viewing: Rosa Ramirez Guerrero Documentary

Rosa Ramirez Guerrero, a documentary film maker, artist, educator, dance historian, and Tuesdays Convocation speaker will present her second film, Tapestry II, in P.E. 101 on Wednesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. Her first film, Tapestry, examined the role the arts can play in creating cultural harmony and understanding. Guerrero will be available for discussion and questions after the film. Free and open to the public.

Online Video: The Last Lecture

In September of 2006 Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the most deadly of cancers. In 2007 he offered what he called his "Last Lecture" to share his wit and wisdom with his students, his colleagues, and (most importantly) his family.

With equal parts humor and heart, Professor Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind lecture that moved an overflow crowd at Carnegie Mellon — and is now moving audiences around the globe. The lecture covers everything from his family, to his childhood dreams, to his work as a computer scientist and professor. The presentation is both academic and tender. Professor Pausch knows that in spite of his attempts to beat the odds, he will likely not survive this battle.

More than 10 million people have listened to or watched his lecture. The 70-minute presentation has been translated into multiple languages, Hyperion published The Last Lecture, a book by Dr. Pausch and a collaborator, Jeff Zaslow, that tells the story behind the lecture.

You can get more information and links to watch the lecture here. If you watch this lecture as make-up for Convocations or Orientation, you must turn in the reflection sheet before 5PM on the last day of finals.

Special Bonus Convocation

Tuesday, April 22 - 11:30 AM - Sharwan Smith Center Theater (ST 161)
The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict from a Palestinian Perspective
William Van Wagenen

In the United States, the media does an excellent job of explaining the conflict from the Israeli government point of view, namely that Israeli government violence is motivated by a desire to provide security to Israel’s Jews in a hostile world dominated by Anti-Semitism. Thus Palestinian violence against Israelis is viewed as motivated by an inherent hatred of Jews, while Israeli violence is viewed as a defensive response to these Palestinian attacks, whether suicide bombings or the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza. Even casual observers in the U.S. are familiar with this explanation for the necessity of Israeli military operations in Palestinian villages, and the building of settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories to be inhabited by Jews only.

In contrast, few observers in the U. S. are familiar with explanations of the causes of the conflict from the Palestinian point of view. For Palestinians, the cause of the conflict is not an inherent hatred of Jews, but rather Israeli Jews’ attempts to colonize and confiscate Palestinian territory for the sake of realizing the aspirations of the Zionist movement.

Understanding both Palestinian and Israeli perspectives on the conflict is important in understanding the dynamics of the violence and how to solve it. In addition to explaining the conflict from the Palestinian perspective, Mr. Van Wagenen will share some experiences from when he was living in the Palestinian Territories as a student at Bir Zeit University. From those experiences he hopes to give some insight about what it is like to live under occupation as Palestinians have for decades.

"Éste es mi México" is an exhibit of 36 paintings on display on the third floor of the Sherratt Library now through April 24. The paintings are entries in the 11th annual children’s drawing contest conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The artists are Mexican children ages 7 – 11 who live all over the world. The drawing contest, whose title means "This is my Mexico," invites participants to express what Mexico means to them. 6,000 entries are submitted every year.

Convocation on video/DVD

You may watch archived (old) Convocations on video or DVD and use them as make-ups or alternates. Remember a maximum of four make-up assignments may be used in place of regular assignments. You may watch DVDs from the current semester (or past semesters) in the Student Success Center or you may watch past semesters in the Library.

This list will be updated throughout the semester, but the Convocations Program cannot guarantee the availability of these additional presentations. Unless noted otherwise, these presentations are not sponsored by SUU Convocations.