Dixie State University President’s Colleagues to discuss the Old Spanish Trail

Dixie State University President’s Colleagues to discuss the Old Spanish Trail

The first President’s Colleagues of Dixie State University meeting for the 2016-17 academic year will feature guest speaker Professor Steven Heath as he presents “The History of the Old Spanish Trail through Utah and Arizona.” The President’s Colleagues of DSU was established more than 20 years ago by former Dixie State President Dr. Douglas Alder and meets once a month during Dixie State’s academic year to hear presentations from retired professors, area professionals and invited guests. The October meeting is set to take place at noon on Monday, Oct. 3, in Lecture Hall 156 of the Taylor Health Science Center, 1526 E. Medical Center Drive. Admission is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. Heath has studied and traveled the historic Old Spanish Trail for more than 40 years. A past president of the Old Spanish Trail Association, Heath recently served as Utah Director of the association. Additionally, he co-wrote “Driving the Old Spanish Trail through Utah and Arizona” and has published studies on Old Spanish Trail travelers Antonio Armigo, William Knight and Jefferson Hunt. A Utah native, Heath earned master’s degrees in mathematics and history from the University of Utah and taught mathematics at Southern Utah University for 34 years. Additionally, Heath has written on the life of scientist Dr. Henry Eyring, who was a physical chemist at Princeton University and the University of Utah. Heath also did a major study for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument on the life and works of Yale geologist Dr. Herbert E. Gregory, who conducted pioneering studies in geology in southern Utah and northern Arizona. Heath also has special interests in the history of Utah’s national parks and monuments, the history of baseball, the history of Mormonism, and the history of mathematics. Heath and his wife, Donna, who have lived in Washington City for seven and a half years, have four children, 16 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. To learn more about Dixie State University, visit utahtech.edu.