Alfred Runte - Environmental Historian, National Parks Scholar

Alfred Runte

April 13, 2023
The Great Hall

Alfred Runte delivered an A.P.E.X. Event Convocation on Thursday, April 13, 2023. His presentation was titled Trains of Discovery: Union Pacific and the National Parks.

An internationally recognized expert on national parks and railroads, Alfred Runte is based in Seattle, Washington. He was an adviser to the Ken Burns PBS documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, and appeared in all six episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series. Runte has also been a guest on Nightline, The Today Show, 48 Hours, the History and Travel channels, and speaks frequently in public forums on the need to protect our parks. His books include Trains of Discovery: Railroads and the Legacy of Our National Parks; Yosemite: The Embattled Wilderness, and the fifth edition of his critically acclaimed National Parks: The American Experience. In April 2011, Runte was elected to membership in the College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame at Illinois State University (his master’s degree institution) “in recognition of exemplary achievement” as a teacher and public scholar. He also holds a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton (now Binghamton University) and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

SUU News: ‘Trains of Discovery’ is the last A.P.E.X. event of the year

Video

Podcast

Songs

1. 500 Miles - Peter, Paul, and Mary
2. The City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie
3. Where Have All The Flowers Gone? - The Kingston Trio
4. This Land Is Your Land - Peter, Paul, and Mary

Photos