The Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program of The University of Texas at Austin will present a research symposium at 1:30 p.m., April 8 at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.
The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Branding Iron Theater in the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex. The Amarillo Area Foundation and The Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation will sponsor a private luncheon prior to the symposium.
Four Harrington Faculty Fellows, Dr. Elizabeth Catlos, Dr. Niko Matouschek, Dr. Fumitoshi Shibahara and Dr. Rebecca Torres, two of the 16 Harrington Graduate Fellows, John Cox and Icy Simpson, and Dr. Darlene Wiley, accompanist to Simpson, will be among the visitors from the university. The group will be accompanied by William Powers Jr., president of The University of Texas at Austin, and other university officials, including Executive Vice President and Provost Steven W. Leslie, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Victoria Rodriguez, Department of Advertising Chairwoman Isabella Cunningham, Associate Graduate Dean Marv Hackert and Harrington Program Coordinator Julie Ewald.
The Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program is one of the most well endowed visiting scholar and graduate fellow programs in the nation, and the most prestigious fellowship program at The University of Texas at Austin. Sybil Harrington established the program as a tribute to her husband, Don. The fellowships support young faculty and graduate students who have academic records of success and ingenuity.
“Sybil Harrington created this outstanding program to bring world-class talent to Texas,” Powers said. “The work these scholars are doing on our campus will benefit the world. We’re pleased that they have this opportunity to visit Canyon and the Amarillo area to share their knowledge and expertise with the people of our state.”
Catlos, of the Department of Geological Sciences, will present a talk titled “From Mineral Grain to Mountain Range—Perspectives on the Evolution of the Himalayas and Beyond.” Matouschek, of the Law School and the Department of Economics, will address “The Economics of the Marriage Contract: Theories and Evidence.” Shibahara, of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, will speak about “Organic Synthesis toward ‘Green Chemistry.'” Torres, a faculty member in the Department of Geography and the Environment, will present a talk titled “Voices from ‘El Otro Lado/The Other Side’: The Mexican Face of Rural Migration to the U.S.”
Cox, a doctoral student in the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, will discuss “Life, Death, and Leaving the Nest” and Simpson, a master’s student in the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, will talk about “Opera Performance: From the Practice Room to the Stage,” and will perform “Quando men vo” from “La Bohème” by Puccini. Simpson will be accompanied by Music Professor Darlene Wiley.
At the end of the symposium, the Harrington Fellows Program will sponsor a reception in the Grand Lobby of the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex.
The Harrington Fellows Program hosted similar events in Amarillo in five of the last six years. The symposium is being held in Canyon, Texas, this year to recognize the far-reaching legacy of the Harringtons’ generosity.
The Amarillo Area Foundation, a community foundation, serves the northernmost 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle through philanthropic leadership. The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in the Texas Panhandle through effective philanthropic efforts.
