Grace A. Tanner Lecture in Human Values
Obert C. Tanner was a Professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, as well as an industrialist and a philanthropist. Of all the gifts he has left to universities, the one he was proudest of is the Lectures on Human Values. The Tanner Lecture on Human Values was formally established at the University of Cambridge, England on July 1, 1978. In writing about the purpose of these lectures, Professor Tanner said, “I see them simply as a search for a better understanding of human behavior and human values." To this end, the lecture provides a forum in which to promote scholarly and scientific learning in the field of human values while embracing moral, artistic, intellectual, and spiritual values—both individual and social—and advancing the full register of values pertinent to the human condition, interest, behavior, and aspiration.
Fall 2025 Grace A. Tanner Lecture
Join us on Thursday, October 2nd, for a lecture entitled “Art as Transformation: Using Photography for Social Change,” presented by esteemed photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier. This free event is open to the public and can be attended in the Gilbert Great Hall, located within the Hunter Alumni Center, at 11:30 a.m.
Frazier’s artistic practice includes photography, video, performance, installation art, and books, all focused on social justice, cultural change, and American experience commentary. Topics she addresses include industrialism, environmental justice, workers’ and human rights, family, communal history, and Rust Belt revitalization. She has won various prestigious awards for her books and other work, including honorary doctorates from Edinboro University and Pratt Institute, fellowships from the MacArthur Fellows Program and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and accolades like the International Center for Photography Infinity Award, the Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Award, the inaugural Gordon Parks Foundation/Steidl Book prize. Frazier’s work is held in countless public collections across the United States and abroad.
This event is part of the Eccles A.P.E.X. Lecture Series.