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ABOUT THE CENTER

 

Since 1988

The Tanner Humanities Center has served as an epicenter of humanities research, outreach, engagement, and education. 

The center has played a crucial role in bringing our campus and community together to analyze, understand, and enrich the human condition. The center has established a record of excellence and impact in its three core program areas:

image of the front of the Carol Irish Humanities Building.

Our History

The Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center was founded in 1988 as the Utah Humanities Center in the College of Humanities at the University of Utah. 

In 1995, it was endowed through a generous gift from the family foundation of Obert C. Tanner, renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, and renamed for Obert and his wife Grace. In Fall 2008, the center moved from Carlson Hall to the newly constructed Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building. This move enabled the center to house administrative and fellowship offices in one area, offer convenient and professional meeting and conference spaces, and cultivate close relationships with the College of Humanities and other schools, colleges, centers, departments, and programs with its central campus location. The center's directors and staff members have worked diligently over the years to support innovative interdisciplinary research, amplify diverse voices and perspectives, bring campus and community members together for shared humanities experiences, reach new audiences, diversify funding sources, and elevate the center's profile in Utah, the country, and the world.

Meet Past & Present Directors

Last Updated: 12/21/23