Guy Stanton Ford Lectureship Program

Guy Stanton Ford, professor of history, was president of the University of Minnesota from 1938 to 1941.  He is best remembered, however, for his 25-year tenure as dean of the Graduate School, from 1913 to 1938.  Although, the Graduate School was established as a separate college in 1905, it was not until after Mr. Ford’s arrival in 1913 that it truly came into its own.

Ford developed high standards for graduate faculty, emphasizing faculty research, and acquiring funds for graduate students.  Many great scholars from a wide variety of fields, inspired by his leadership, chose Minnesota as their academic home.  Ford’s initiative in acquiring recurring research funds during those early years established the Graduate School’s leadership role in encouraging faculty research.  He was the single most influential figure during that formative period in transforming Minnesota into one of the nation’s top research and graduate institutions.

After his death in 1962, Ford’s family, friends, and colleagues established an endowment fund for the Guy Stanton Ford Memorial Lecture.  This lecture brings to the University of Minnesota distinguished scholars from many different areas of inquiry, reflecting Ford's own broad intellectual interests.

Presenting in 2008:

N. Scott Momaday — Author, Native American Scholar, Poet

"Native American Oral Tradition: The Stories & Storytellers"

12:15 p.m., Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ted Mann Concert Hall — West Bank Campus

Referred to as “the dean of American Indian writers” by The New York Times, Scott Momaday holds an important place in the American literary arts. Momaday was the first Native American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, House Made of Dawn. His brilliant use of language has garnered him countless awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Autry Museum of Western Heritage Humanities Prize, a prize from the Academy of American Poets, and the “Mondello,” Italy’s highest literary honor. In 2004 Momaday was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace, in recognition of his outstanding achievements as a writer and painter and his efforts to safeguard Native American heritage. He was awarded the 2007 National Medal of Arts at the White House in November. He is also the poet laureate of the state of Oklahoma.

But it is through the spoken word that his dedication to his people’s heritage is most profoundly felt. Born a Kiowa in the Oklahoma Dustbowl, Momaday was raised on reservations in the Southwest, steeped in the oral tradition. “If I do not speak with care,” he has said, “my words are wasted. If I do not listen with care, words are lost.” Says Momaday, “stories are not told merely to entertain or instruct. They are told to be believed. Stories are realities lived and believed. They are true.”

His works of fiction include In the Bear’s House (which includes his own paintings), The Way to Rainy Mountain and The Ancient Child. His collections of poetry include In the Presence of the Sun and The Gourd Dancer. He is the author of The Man Made of Words: Essays, Stories, Passages; his memoir, The Names; the children’s book, Circle of Wonder: A Native American Christmas Story; and two plays, Children of the Sun and The Indolent Boys. He is currently working on a new novel.

Ford Lectures are free and open to the public.

Guy Stanton Ford