SUU Celebrates History with 2019 Founders Week

Published: March 08, 2019 | Author: Parker Nelson | Read Time: 3 minutes

SUU Founders week posterSouthern Utah University is an icon of tradition and history with a founding story that is a source of pride and inspiration. Since its doors opened in 1897, SUU is dedicated to helping students reach their fullest potentials. It is because of this wonderful legacy that SUU celebrates Founders Week each March.

The Founders Week celebration honors the rich history of SUU and looks forward to the promising future. Founders Week is celebrated all week long through various events where each event pays tribute to the determined and ambitious men and women who sacrificed so much to establish this wonderful institution.

This year, Founders Week will be held Monday, March 18th through Friday, March 22nd. The list of events can be found here:

  • Monday, March 18: SUU Trivia Night Game Show and Back Up the Mountain movie showing. This event will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Sharwan Smith Student Center Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Student Programming Board and Student Involvement and Leadership.
  • Tuesday, March 19: Lunch on the Main. This event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will include founder’s stories and lunch for students at the Library Plaza, Library Entrance, Centurium, Founders Monuments (Old Sorrel), Old Main, and the Sharwan Smith Student Center.
  • Wednesday, March 20: Howard R. Driggs Memorial Lecture. This event will be held at 11:30 a.m. in the Gilbert Great Hall, the Hunter Conference Center by Dr. Bradley J. Cook. Then later that night, there will be a Founders Dinner and Awards held at 6:30 p.m. in the Gilbert Great Hall, Hunter Conference Center. RSVP to this event to Camaree Staheli or call 435-865-8656. Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Mike Richards and Brad Cook, with Anne Judd being posthumously inducted into the SUU Hall of Honor.
  • Thursday, March 21: Country music singer, Brett Young, concert. This event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the America First Event Center. 
  • Friday, March 22: Campus Beautification Day. This event will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event is a campus wide clean-up and beautification sponsored by SUU’s Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa and SUU Grounds. Sign up on the Founders Week website and then check-in at the Sherratt Library prior to your scheduled time of service. Also on Friday, SUU 90’s Throwback Dance Party at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Sharwan Smith Student Center Ballroom.

Founders Week is sponsored by the Alumni Association at SUU. “I like the tradition of Founders Week, something we have celebrated since 1925, and that we take time to remember our original founders and those who have sacrificed for SUU through the years,” Ron Cardon, the director of the Alumni Association, said about his favorite aspect of Founders Week.

Along with the Alumni Association, the Student Programming Board (SPB) is helping to create events that will focus on involving students in the celebration of SUU. Brandon Gunny, a director in SPB who is in charge of the event from the student side said, “we are trying to make Founders Week feel like a second homecoming.”

Founders Week is a wonderful celebration dedicated to SUU and all the incredible people that have made such an impact on SUU. For more information on the events and history, visit the Founders Week website.


Tags: Alumni Founders Week

Contact Information:

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