UWs Saturday University Program in Rock Springs March 28

A special edition of the University of Wyoming’s Saturday University -- a free one-day program featuring three lectures -- is Thursday, March 28, in Rock Springs.

Thursday University is at 6 p.m. in Room 3650A at Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC), located at 2500 College Drive. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for a free light dinner and snacks, followed by three lectures by two UW professors and a WWCC professor.

“During the fall and spring terms, Saturday University visits locations throughout Wyoming discussing today’s most captivating topics,” says Saturday University faculty Director Paul Flesher, a UW religious studies professor.

In its 11th year, Saturday University is a collaborative program that connects popular UW and Wyoming community college professors with lifelong learners. Offered 10 times this year -- twice each in Jackson, Gillette and Sheridan, and once in Cody, Green River, Pinedale and Rock Springs -- Saturday University is sponsored by the university, Wyoming community colleges and local communities.

The Rock Springs program is sponsored by UW’s Office of Engagement and Outreach, and WWCC.

Listed below are program times, topic descriptions and professors lecturing:

-- 6 p.m.: “The Three Most Important Buildings in the World: The Parthenon, the Dome of the Rock and Hagia Sophia,” Naomi Pitamber, UW Department of Visual Arts visiting assistant professor.

“The Parthenon in Athens, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the church/mosque of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul are three of the most highly visited buildings in the world,” Pitamber says.

She will share the intriguing and often contentious histories of the three works of architecture, including little known stories about the structures’ “darker” periods of history, roles in wartime and peacetime, and why they are important today.

Pitamber has conducted field-work in each of the three buildings in connection to her research as part of her new book project “Conquering the Sacred East.”

-- 6:50 p.m.: “Dr. Feelgood or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the FDA,” Randal Goff, WWCC chemistry associate professor.

“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an important role in American health care and in the development of new ways combating disease,” Goff says. “But, the public often sees their activities as opaque and arcane.”

He will demystify the process of drug development and then gaining FDA approval. As part of the presentation, Goff will describe his experience in the field of drug discovery and the process of obtaining FDA approval for Mylotarg, an innovative anti-cancer drug.

-- 7:40 p.m.: “Ritual and Political Structure in the Andes of Ancient Peru,” Jason Toohey, UW Department of Anthropology associate professor, and director of UW’s George C. Frison Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Archaeological excavations by UW scientists in the Andes Mountains of Peru have unveiled a civilization older than the Incas -- the Cajamarca Culture.

“The recent discovery of a monumental circular plaza at the 600-acre site of Callacpuma is not only the first feature of its kind in northern Peru, but may constitute the earliest ritual and political architecture in the region, Toohey says.

He will discuss the discovery, and the public and political organization of the Cajamarca Culture.

For more information about UW’s Thursday University program in Rock Springs, call Flesher at (307) 766-2616 or email pflesher@uwyo.edu.