SUU to Dedicate Three Structures at Annual Founders' Day

Published: March 07, 2008 | Read Time: 2 minutes

A time capsule, vintage wagon, log-sawing competition and the rededication of historic Old Main will all come together on Friday, March 14 for Southern Utah University’s 110th Founders’ Day Celebration.

Two other structures—the Carter Carillon and the Emma Eccles Jones Teacher Education Building—will also be dedicated as the Cedar City and campus community come together, much like 110 years ago when the founders laid the cornerstone of Old Main.

“Founders’ Day is the perfect time to celebrate a new home for education because this was the university’s original mission,” says Dean O’Driscoll, director of marketing and public relations and chair of the Founders’ Day committee. “We are celebrating our original roots as we celebrate our birthday.”

A festive atmosphere will permeate the day’s events beginning with the Dedication Celebration at the Randall Jones Theater at 1:30 p.m. Program participants will include two former Cedar City mayors, Harold Shirley and Kerry Jones, and current mayor, Gerald R Sherratt. SUU Board of Trustees members and other university officials will also be in participation. Music will be performed by Virginia Stitt, associate professor of music and 2007 Music Educator of the Year.

An open house with music and refreshments will begin at the conclusion of the dedication program. From 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., community members are invited to tour Old Main and the Emma Eccles Jones Teacher Education Building through interactive, self-guided tours. The Education Building will host displays featuring student work, teaching curriculums and technology demonstrations. Information guides will be stationed throughout the building and provide mini-presentations on the buildings unique features.

An information kiosk will also be located in Old Main where visitors will be able to learn more about the construction and remodel of this historic building. Though the building tour is self-guided, there will be guides in various locations of the building to showcase the detailed murals and historical photographs throughout Old Main.

Community members are also invited to witness SUU’s preparation of a time capsule to be opened 90 years later during the University’s bicentennial celebration. At 3:15 p.m. the contents of the time capsule will be presented, and then buried directly under the Carter Carillon, at the epicenter of the tower’s four legs. Both Cedar City and University community members were invited to submit ideas for the time capsule. The winning ideas will be placed in the capsule.

During all of the festivities, there will be opportunities for SUU visitors to step back into time. An old wagon, similar to the one pulled by Old Sorrell, will be filled with Cedar Mountain timber. All are invited to try their luck with a two-man saw and reenact how the original founders prepared the timber for the construction of Old Main.

A reception will take place at the Hunter Conference Center following the open house at 5:00 p.m. More information can be found by going to www.suu.edu and clicking on the link on the right hand side of the screen.

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