Skip to main content
Intellect

Stephen L. Tanner to give Distinguished Faculty Lecture at BYU forum Oct. 26

University's highest faculty honor

Stephen L. Tanner, a professor of English, will deliver the 2004 Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecture during a forum assembly Tuesday, Oct. 26, 11:05 a.m. in Brigham Young University's Marriott Center.

Live broadcasts of the forum are on KBYU-TV (Channel 11), BYU-Television, KBYU-FM (89.1), BYU-Radio and at byubroadcasting.org, as well as on campus in the Joseph Smith Building auditorium and the Varsity Theater.

Rebroadcasts will be Sunday, Oct. 31, on KBYU-TV at 6 a.m., BYU Television at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., KBYU-FM at 8 p.m., and BYU Radio at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m.. Audio archives are available at www.byubroadcasting.org.

His address is titled "What Are You Thinking?"

"In an age of sensory overload and an apparent flight from solitude, quiet pondering may actually be an endangered habit," Tanner said. "How can we replace self-indulgent day-dreaming or insipid mental screen saving with the richness of thoughtful reflection?"

Tanner received the university's highest teaching honor from President Cecil O. Samuelson in August during this year's Annual University Conference for faculty and staff. In 1995, Tanner was named the Ralph A. Britsch Humanities Professor of English.

The recipient of a P. A. Christensen Lectureship, a Phi Kappa Phi Scholar Award, four Fulbright Senior Lectureships and, in 1999, the Lionel Trilling Award, Tanner has been honored with some of his profession's highest honors.

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

New BYU microscopes offer atomic-level imaging, student-led research

September 09, 2025
At many universities, student researchers rarely get the chance to even see a transmission electron microscope, or TEM, up close—let alone use one. At BYU, undergraduate students are about to run the show.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Learning students’ names boosts belonging at BYU, study finds

August 28, 2025
The start of a new semester brings more than fresh syllabi. It brings the challenge—and opportunity—of learning the names behind each new face in a classroom.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

The next chapter in BYU's origami engineering: Student-discovered patterns unfold like blooming flowers, have major applications

August 19, 2025
BYU Engineering is well known for origami-inspired research and innovations, including foldable antenna systems used in space. Recently, an undergraduate student made a significant discovery—a new family of origami patterns with promising applications across a range of fields, including space systems, medical devices, bulletproof shields, architecture, furniture and aerodynamic components for transportation.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=