Skip to main content
Intellect

Mali, Asia topics for upcoming Kennedy Center lectures at BYU

The David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University will host three guest lecturers during the next three weeks in 238 Herald R. Clark Building.

Admission to all three lectures is free, and the public is welcome.

  • Yacouba Kone, a program assistant and trainer for Agriculture and Natural Resource Management with the Peace Corps in Mali, will present an African Studies Lecture Wednesday, May 17, at 3 p.m. Kone has worked for the Peace Corps in his current position since 1998 and previously as a French and Bambara language tutor. In his role as program assistant, Kone collaborates with various national and international organizations on development issues in Mali.

  • Kerk L. Phillips, an associate professor of economics at BYU, will present an Asian Studies Lecture Wednesday, May 24, at 1 p.m. Phillips has conducted research and training in the areas of macroeconomics, international economics, international finance, economic growth, exchange rate behavior, Asian economies and statistical analysis of 17th- and 18th-century Korean censuses.

  • Steven L. Riep, an assistant professor of Chinese at BYU, will present an Asian Studies Lecture Wednesday, May 31, at noon. Riep serves on both the International Cinema Advisory Committee and the Asian Studies Executive Committee. He will discuss “The Moral Universe of Martial Arts Cinema” in his lecture. He previously worked as a multi-language translation supervisor for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and traveled regularly to several Asian countries.

    All three lectures will be archived online. For more information on Kennedy Center events, visit kennedy.byu.edu.

    Writer: Brian Rust

    Related Articles

    data-content-type="article"

    Wildflowers not wildfires: How BYU and Provo City are helping to restore Rock Canyon Trailhead

    July 10, 2025
    At Rock Canyon Trailhead in Provo, Utah, BYU researchers are fighting fires with flowers. By replacing a problematic weed called cheatgrass with wildflowers, students and faculty are working to protect and restore one of Provo’s most popular hiking spots.
    overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
    data-content-type="article"

    Wildfires in residential areas are on the rise; why hydrants and the water system behind them were never meant to stop those fires

    July 01, 2025
    BYU professor Rob Sowby teaches and studies environmental engineering, urban water infrastructure and sustainability. He has particular expertise in the planning, design, construction and operation of public water systems. That expertise has been increasingly important (and regularly sought out) in the wake of apocalyptic wildfires that have taxed those public water systems.
    overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
    data-content-type="article"

    Meet the BYU math student helping make wildfire predictions faster and smarter

    June 25, 2025
    Using machine learning and math, a BYU student improved a key tool firefighters rely on during wildfire season
    overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
    overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=