Bringing Interdisciplinary Studies to Cedar City - AIS Conference

Apr 13, 2018

2 min

Recently selected to be the host of the International Interdisciplinary Studies Association (AIS) Conference in the fall of 2021, Southern Utah University is looking forward to welcoming the world to Cedar City.


AIS is an interdisciplinary professional organization founded to promote integrative studies. Upcoming conference locations include both Wayne State University in Michigan and the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Hosting an international conference will provide the SUU community a great opportunity to network and connect with schools all over the world.


Dr. Brad Cook, Southern Utah University Provost and Executive Vice President is honored to host the 2021 conference and feels that “SUU is a perfect venue for this conference because of our commitment to the values of interdisciplinary pedagogy.”


“Interdisciplinary work is about creating new ways of thinking across and among various knowledge boundaries. The world is inherently interdisciplinary and our curricula should increasingly recognize that real life is rarely compartmentalized into neat subject matter.”


Dr. Cynthia Kimball Davis, Director of Graduate Programs at Southern Utah University, is happy to see the opportunity coming to southern Utah.


“This is huge for SUU, Utah and the Western United States. Hosting this conference validates SUU’s credibility in interdisciplinary studies and helps get the word out about the opportunities offered here,” said Davis. “We’re new AIS members and new to interdisciplinary on a graduate level. In fact, we’re the only interdisciplinary studies master’s degree in the state of Utah! We want the world to know that SUU has solid interdisciplinary programs.”


Dr. Cook holds the rank of full professor and has more than 20 years of administrative experience in higher education, fourteen of which have been spent as a provost or president.


Dr. Davis specializes in educational outreach, management training, and curriculum design and works to be a hope-based communicator and community leader.


Both are familiar with the media and available for an interview.


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