HISTORY DAY


BOOK AWARDS


CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR'S AWARD WINNERS!

FINALIST FOR THE BEST BOOK IN UTAH HISTORY

The Finalist for the Best Book in Utah History was awarded to Andrew Gulliford for Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge and Resistance, published by the University of Utah Press. In 2016, President Obama designated Bears Ears National Monument; one year later, President Trump significantly reduced the size of the monument. With this book—at once timely and the product of much research—Andrew Gulliford lays out the 11,000 years of rich, complicated history of the Bears Ears region, a place that is both contested by interest groups and sacred to Indigenous peoples. Gulliford’s book will provide an invaluable reference as we continue to debate the meaning of this land.

JUANITA BROOKS BEST BOOK IN UTAH HISTORY AWARD

Awarded to Amy Tanner Thiriot for Slavery in Zion: A Documentary and Genealogical History of Black Lives and Black Servitude in Utah Territory, 1847 to 1862, published by the University of Utah Press. At the heart of Slavery in Zion is respect for the lives and agency of the approximately 100 Black men, women, and children who were enslaved or indentured in Utah Territory. Through careful research and documentation, Thiriot has untangled myths and misconceptions about enslaved people in Utah. Their experiences are now an established part of the history of Utah and the American West. Thiriot’s remarkable book will influence scholarship on Utah’s territorial period for years to come.


The Utah Historical Society’s annual awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to history, prehistory or historic preservation in Utah. Whether these efforts are quiet or prominent, they benefit the state's citizens.

Congratulations to this year's award winners!

2024 WINNERS
Image

Ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Ut sed tempor mauris, eget ultrices turpis ornare nulla.

Image

Ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Ut sed tempor mauris, eget ultrices turpis ornare nulla.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR


SINCE 2017

Since 2017, the Utah History Day Teacher of the Year Award is given to an outstanding UHD teacher in honor of Mike Johnson, who directed this program from 1991-2006. Mike was respected and loved by the teachers and schools he served throughout the state, and he cultivated a dynamic approach to history education through what was then called the Utah History Fair.

Winners receive $500 and are nominated for the national Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year Award.




2023: Darlene Tanner, Diamond Valley Elementary and Melinda Reay, Skyline High School

2022: Cali Dansie Burgess, Timberline Middle School

2021: Elizabeth Halloran, Westland Elementary

2020: Lisa Pockrus, Ogden High School

2019: Melissa Crandall, Union Middle School (Sandy)

RESULTS

PROGRAM HISTORY


SINCE 1980

Our program got its start in 1980 in the History Department at Utah State University. Influenced by the Chicago Metro History Fair, Ohio, West Virginia, and National History Day, History Professor Errol Jones began work to create a history research-based competition for Utah’s youth. With help from colleagues at USU, including then History Department Chair Ross Peterson and the late College Dean William Lye, Jones worked throughout 1980 to raise the money to bring the program to fruition. Start-up money came from many sources including Utah State University. The Utah State Board of Education donated over $20,000 during the summer of 1980. In October of 1980, the Utah Endowment for the Humanities supplied over $25,000 and provided the final key to getting the Utah History Fair started.

Professor Jones and Assistant Director Shannon Hoskins began meeting educators along the Wasatch Front in November. They conducted 10 workshops with educators and 45 in-class presentations to 1,500 students and community members. They worked with 71 teachers in 31 schools and 14 school districts. Four regional competitions were held. At the state contest, judges selected 12 projects to represent Utah at the National History Day Contest in Maryland. During that first year, nearly 500 students competed in the Utah History Fair. Delmont Oswalt, Director of the Utah Endowment for the Humanities, decided to support the Utah History Fair an additional year. Since its inception in 1980, the Utah History Fair has continued to grow and turn thousands of Utah’s kids into historians.

In 2013, Utah History Fair became Utah History Day when it adopted the nationally recognized moniker, and was transferred from Utah State University to the Utah Division of State History.

To listen to the story of the “Founding of the Utah History Fair,” visit the “Beehive Archive”. “Beehive Archive” is a program of the Utah Humanities Council, formerly the Utah Endowment for the Humanities.

LOREM IPSUM DOLOR

LOREM IPSUM DOLOR
Sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis ncommodo consequat. Durit in vulputate velit esse molestie. Sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis ncommodo consequat. Durit in vulputate velit esse molestie.
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR
Sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis ncommodo consequat. Durit in vulputate velit esse molestie. Sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis ncommodo consequat. Durit in vulputate velit esse molestie.