Weber State University Dean, Scott Sprenger Named to Utah Humanities' Board of Directors

"We very much appreciate Scott's eagerness to serve on our board," said Cynthia Buckingham, Executive Director of Utah Humanities. "He brings the mix of experience, insight, and passion we need. To have such engaged board members representing us and working on our behalf in their local communities strengthens the entire state. Scott's work and interests are examples of how the humanities can influence each of us personally and collectively."

Sprenger was appointed dean of the Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities at Weber State University in 2016. He comes to this post from a position as Provost at The American University of Paris (AUP), a private, independent liberal arts university in Paris, France. Before joining AUP, he was a professor of French literature and associate dean in the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University (BYU).

Sprenger's appointment to the board comes at a critical time as the arts and humanities are being called upon for civic engagement projects and for professional skill development for a global economy. Dr. Sprenger's experience with foreign language programming and with connecting the liberal arts to global career opportunity will be beneficial as the board looks to extend its reach and strategic priorities throughout the state and beyond.

His administrative work as Provost and Dean has covered a broad range of areas, such as strategic planning, institutional budgeting, faculty hiring and promotions, curriculum development and oversight, international programs, college and university advising, the creation and oversight of research centers, grant writing and fundraising. At AUP, he secured Andrew W. Mellon institutional grants to improve first-year programs, to open a Civic Media Lab and a Center for Critical Democracy Studies. With private funding, he founded a Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention. While at BYU, Sprenger's main assignment was to create and oversee a program called Humanities+ whose aim was to bridge the humanities and liberal arts to the global labor market. Humanities+ has been acclaimed in the national press and by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as one of the most innovative initiatives in the liberal arts in the United States. He has also advocated for the humanities and liberal arts, with Congress via the Humanities Alliance Conference, on the radio, in the Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications. His graduate degrees in French Studies are from Johns Hopkins University and Emory, and he is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar award in Brussels/Paris in 2009 and an Andrew W. Mellon post doc at UCLA in 1999-01. His main publications are on modern European literature and culture. He currently curates the Arts & Humanities Paths 2 Career Blog: https://telithaelindquistcollege.wordpress.com/.

About Utah Humanities: Utah Humanities empowers Utahns to improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities. UH is funded by the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Fund, the State of Utah, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and through gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Each year, Utah Humanities supports hundreds of educational and cultural programs throughout Utah. For more information, visit www.utahhumanities.org.              

About the Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities
The Weber State University Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities teaches students to excel as they seek, understand, question and express complexities critical to the experience of being human. The Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities offers undergraduate degree programs in the following five areas: Communication, English, Foreign Language, Performing Arts and Visual Art & Design. Master's degrees also are offered in Communication and English. The college serves more than 2,000 undergraduate majors and 250 graduate students. The Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities is the Western region's foremost institution for student- centered teaching and research that investigates the human experience and aims to educate global citizens who are responsible, creative and critical artists, performers and communicators. For more information please visit, (www.weber.edu/cah).                                  

Contact:                                                                    
Christie Denniston, APR
Director of Marketing and PR
Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities Weber State University
Phone: 801-626-6431
Cell: 303-827-5164
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Weber State University Telitha E. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities

Related Links

http://www.weber.edu/cah