20 Facts to Celebrate the Tanner Center’s 40th Anniversary

Posted: January 23, 2020 | Author: Savannah Byers | Read Time: 5 minutes

Celebrate Southern Utah University's Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values 40th anniversary by learning more about the center:

  1. Namesake
    Southern Utah University’s Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values was named after Parowan, Utah native Grace Adams Tanner (1906-2005). Grace A. Tanner attended Southern Utah University (then Southern Utah State School) and later received an honorary doctoral degree.

  2. Location
    The Tanner Center is located in the Special Collections area on the Garden Level of the Gerald R. Sherratt Library. The Center is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for study and use of reference materials.

  3. Tanner Center Beginnings
    The Tanner Center was generously funded by the Tanner Trust for Utah Universities by the late Professor Obert C. Tanner and his wife Grace A. Tanner. Today, there are Tanner Centers at prestigious universities around the world including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, and many others.

  4. Why the Tanner Center
    The Tanner Center creates an atmosphere that encourages learning and exploration. The Center seeks to promote access to scholarly and scientific learning in all areas of human values that embrace moral, artistic, intellectual, and spiritual concepts.

  5. Tanner Center’s Goal
    The ultimate goal of the Tanner Center is to encourage maximum exposure of students, faculty, and the larger community to the ideas which best exemplify the human condition and the values which help to define it.
    Centurium
  6. The Centurium
    Dr. Eugene T. Woolf, former Director of the Tanner Center, assisted in the selection of the twelve historical figures represented in the Centurium, a gift to SUU to commemorate the 100th anniversary, Dr. Woolf also wrote a book about the twelve entitled The Odyssey of the Mind, A Voyage of Discovery.

  7. Current Director
    Dr. Danielle Dubrasky, associate professor of English, has been the Director of the Tanner Center since 2016. Dr. Dubrasky earned her M.A. in English from Stanford University, and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Utah. Her poetry has been published in numerous places.

  8. Grace A. Tanner Lecture in Human Values
    The Tanner Lectures on Human Values were endowed in 1978 by Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner. Lecturers for the annual Grace A. Tanners Lecture in Human Values at SUU draw topics from philosophy, the sciences, the creative arts, and the various areas of statesmanship and leadership. These annual lectures have been said to, “partake of the spirit of Grace’s brightness, wit, and sense of humor.”
    Tanner Center Talks
  9. Tanner Center Talks
    The Tanner Center Talks are an expansion of the Tanner Center Lectures. They are held multiple times throughout the semester by a variety of speakers covering a variety of topics. The format of these events can vary to include panel discussions, lectures, or mealtime conversations which relate to the annual theme. The theme for the 2019-2020 school year is Self, Community, and Human Values.

  10. Certificate in Human Values
    The Certificate in Human Values is a two-semester program that recognizes participation in the Grace A. Tanner Center’s interdisciplinary programs that promote dialogue on ideas which best exemplify the human condition and the values which help to define it. This certificate is an institutional certificate that does not offer credit but will show up on the transcript.

  11. Dinner & Dialogues
    In conjunction with most Tanner Center Talks, the Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values hosts Dinner and Dialogue. These student-focused events are designed to get students interacting with presenters in order to engage more deeply on the topics. Dinner and Dialogues are completely free and open to all students.
    Tanner Gallery
  12. Grace Adams Tanner Gallery at SUMA
    The Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) includes the Grace Adams Tanner Gallery, named in accordance with the Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values. The 2018-2019 exhibits featured art by Kyung Youl Yoon and Christopher Joran.

  13. Artist in Residence
    The Artist in Residence is a collaboration between the Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values, A.P.E.X. Events, SUMA, and Art Insights. The Artist in Residence program invites an esteemed artist to spend a week on campus offering lectures and presentations, and visiting classes.
    David Lunt
  14. Distinguished Faculty Honor Lecture
    The Tanner Center has sponsored the SUU Distinguished Faculty Lecture since 1981. The 2020 speaker will be Dr. Dave Lunt, Assistant Professor of History, speaking on The Crown Games of Ancient Greece: Olympics, Athletes, and the Panhellenic Contests. Dr. Lunt’s lecture will take place on January 23, 2020, at 11:30 a.m. in the Gilbert Great Hall.

  15. Grace A. Tanner Scholarship
    The Grace A. Tanner Scholarship is annually awarded to one college at SUU each year. The scholarship covers full tuition and fees for one year to a student selected by the designated college.

  16. Tanner Room
    The Tanner Room, located in the Garden Level of the Gerald R. Sherratt Library, provides resources for students and faculty. The Tanner Room is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for study and use of reference materials.

  17. Diversity in Guests & Topics
    The Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values is committed to inviting guest speakers with a variety of backgrounds to speak on a myriad of subjects. Past speakers have included entrepreneurs, authors, and even violinists.
    SUU Tanner Center
  18. 40th Anniversary
    2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the Grace A. Tanner Center for Human Values. 2020 will be full of events in celebration that will be announced throughout the year.

  19. Year of Grace
    The year 2020 will be dubbed the “Year of Grace” in honor of Grace Adams Tanner. In accordance of the Tanner Center’s 40th Anniversary, subsequent events will be announced throughout the year.

  20. 2020 Lineup of Events: 
  • Distinguished Faculty Lecture: David Lunt, Jan 23, 2020 at 11:30 a.m., Gilbert Great Hall
  • Tanner Center Talks: Catherine Hoke, Jan 28, 2020 at 11:30 a.m., BUS 156
  • Artist in Residence: Xárene Eskander, Feb 27, 2020 at 11:30 a.m., Gilbert Great Hall
  • Student Story Project, March 11, 2020 at 11:30 a.m., Tanner Center
  • Tanner Center Talks, April 14, 2020 at 7:30 p.m., Tanner Center
  • Certificate in Human Values Celebration, April 15, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., Tanner Center


The Tanner Center is located in the Special Collections area on the Garden Level of the Gerald R. Sherratt Library. The Center is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the Grace A. Tanner Center on their website

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