Drummond Selected to Lead UWs Saturday University Program

Saturday University, a collaborative program that connects popular University of Wyoming and Wyoming community college professors with lifelong learners around the state, has a new leader.

UW English Professor Kent Drummond, a longtime UW faculty member, has taken the reins from Paul Flesher, who became the director of UW’s American Heritage Center in 2019. Flesher started and directed Saturday U since it began in 2007.

“We are excited that Saturday U will continue to enrich the lives of Wyomingites under Dr. Drummond’s leadership,” says Jean Garrison, director of UW’s Office of Engagement and Outreach, which oversees Saturday U. “Dr. Flesher leaves a tremendous legacy of connecting UW’s talented faculty members with the people of Wyoming, and I’m confident Dr. Drummond will help us build on that foundation.”

In its 13th year, Saturday U has had programs in seven Wyoming communities over the last year -- Green River, Jackson, Pinedale, Rock Springs, Sheridan, Gillette and Cody -- and was scheduled for sessions in spring 2020, before restrictions related to COVID-19 caused some events to be canceled this spring. Saturday U is sponsored by the university, Wyoming community colleges and local communities.

Drummond teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences for the Department of English and for the Honors College. He is a former associate dean and marketing professor in UW’s College of Business. Specializing in consumer relations and communications, he began his collegiate career at Stanford University, completing an English major in 1980. He then obtained an MBA at the Kellogg School of Management from Northwestern University in 1982 and a Ph.D. in communications at the University of Texas-Austin in 1990.

Drummond is a co-author of “The Road to Wicked: Marketing and Consuming Oz: From Baum to Broadway,” as well as several articles on marketing and the arts, including studies of “Swan Lake,” “Caravaggio” and “The Da Vinci Code.” A past presenter for Saturday U, he has earned multiple teaching honors, including the John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award, the Beatrice Gallatin Beuf Golden Apple Award, A&S Top 10 Teacher and the College of Business Senior Teaching Award.