Black History Month

In 2017, the Eccles Library began an annual series of guest lectures, exhibits, Community Reads, and film screenings celebrating Black History Month of February.

The first exhibit, Celebratory Retrospective on the History of African Americans in Utah, highlighted three prominent Black Utahns for their Civil Rights activism in the state and the University of Utah campus.

Pastor France Davis
(1946-Present)
Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, an author, and a leading voice for justice in Utah.

Herman Hooten
(1950-2012)
University of Utah’s Ethnic Minority Director for the Health Sciences Center, and Assistant Dean of Minority Affairs for the School of Medicine.

Dr. Charles James Nabors
(1934 -1986)
First African American Faculty member at the University of Utah, Utah’s DNC leader during Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign, Utah’s NAACP leader.

The series continued in 2018 with The Stories of African Americans in Early Utah History, and in 2019 with Race: The Power of an Illusion.

Charles Nabors & Herman Hooten

A wall in the library’s Garden Level was dedicated to showcasing recipients of the Leadership in Inclusive Excellence Award from the University of Utah Health’s Office of Health Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion. Award recipients include the Eccles Library’s Joan M. Gregory.

Portraits of Dr. Charles James Nabors, the first African American faculty member at the University of Utah and Herman Hooten, M.S.W. who served as the Director of the University of Utah’s Ethnic Minority Health Sciences Center and as Assistant Dean for Minority Affairs at the University Of Utah’s School of Medicine were placed to honor both of these prominent figures at the University of Utah.

Read the full profiles of Charles J. Nabors, PhD → and Herman Hooten, MSW →

The Utah Women in Medicine Exhibit presents many of the female clinicians and researchers who have contributed to the health sciences legacy of excellence at the University of Utah, from the pioneering women in the early medical classes to the innovative women advancing today’s medical field.

This exhibit is permanent, and is located in the Eccles Health Sciences Library main level on the south-facing art gallery wall.

Portrait Gallery Diversity

A quick glance at the Portrait Gallery on the library’s main level is a lesson in the historical white and male dominance of the health sciences.

Portraits of prominent women and people of color were highlighted as editions to our portrait collection in order to highlight the many contributions women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color made to the success of the University of Utah’s Health Sciences.

Portraits included the following:

Priscilla M. Mayden, MLIS
1918-2011
Director, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, 1971-1984

Edward I. Hashimoto, MD
1911-1987
Professor of Anatomy, 1935-1987

Linda K. Amos, EdD, RN
Professor of Nursing
Dean College of Nursing
Associate Vice President for Health Sciences

F. Marian Bishop, PhD
1927-2003
Professor and Chair, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, 1984-1994
First Female Department Chair, School of Medicine

In 2019 the Eccles Library began providing no-cost Naloxone rescue kits courtesy of Utah Naloxone. Naloxone (Narcan^®) is an injection that reverses and stops an opioid overdose from occurring.

Kits are available at the Eccles Library front desk →

Free Menstrual Products in all Restrooms

In an effort to increase menstrual equity, the library began offering menstrual products, for free, in all restrooms in 2019. Like toilet paper, health products should be readily available for all who need them, and it’s very common for periods to unexpectedly start.

These products were also made available in the men’s restroom for trans and intersex visibility (or to grab one for a friend in need!). Creating access for any one, for any reason at the Eccles Library.

Therapy Animals

In 2016, Public Services began inviting therapy animals to visit the students studying at the library during finals week of spring and fall semesters. The visits were so popular that taking a “Paws before Finals” became a mainstay of the library’s wellness programs.

Free Yoga

The library began offering free yoga classes every Wednesday at noon in 2016. The project was initially a ten-week trial series in summer 2016. At the end of the trial  the weekly attendance and  feedback was so positive that the  series continued through the present day. Free yoga at the library also provided a much needed complementary and integrative health option for students, staff, and faculty of the health sciences.

–Tallie Casucci, Donna Baluchi, from A Health Sciences Library Promotes Wellness with Free Yoga

Event Series

Joan M. Gregory organized art galleries from numerous community members on campus, a weekly book club on various social topics called “Community Reads” as well as a lecture series “Evening Ethics” and several film screenings as part of Joan’s greater access and inclusion efforts.

Notable Events, Faculty, & Staff

Continue to next section: Notable Events, Faculty, & Staff →

2010’s Table of Contents:

1. Evolution of Space
2. Changing Access
3. Innovative Service
4. Discovering Technology
5. Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
6. Notable Events, Faculty, & Staff