Ryan Paul

Assistant Professor of History and Director of A.P.E.X.

  • Cedar City UT UNITED STATES

Specializing in U.S. history, cultural history, and the beginnings of Utah's National Parks.

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Biography

Ryan Paul is a lecturer of history at Southern Utah University. Previous to his time at SUU, Paul was the museum curator for the Frontier Homestead State Park in Cedar City, Utah.

Paul is the author of Celebrate 50 Years: Utah Shakespeare Festival and the upcoming Singaway, a book about the Utah Parks Company. He has written five documentary films, lectured across the State as a Utah Humanities Council Road Scholar, served as President of the Utah Museums Association, and created a number of museum exhibits.

He is a devotee of all things Elvis, Dr. Who, and DC Comics. He is married to Kami, has one son who is a genius, one daughter who is equally brilliant, and recently welcomed a second daughter who has more hair than he does.

Paul earned a bachelor's degree in history from Weber State University, a master's degree in history from the University of Mississippi, and a master's degree in arts administration from Southern Utah University.

Spotlight

2 min

Endless Opportunities for Graduates With a Degree in History

Students who study history learn to be proficient in research, fact finding, processing content, interpreting data, effective writing, public communication, and critical thinking. These skills pertinent to a history degree translate into many different career paths.“One of the key skills of any historian is to make sense of the past—to connect the dots between historical events and between the past and the present,” said Dr. Laura Davis, assistant professor of history. “We often utilize the past to make sense of the present, which is an invaluable skill in many careers.”Studying history opens up many pathways for students according to their strengths and interests. There are opportunities in fields such as education, journalism, research and archival services, business and management, and law and public administration. “To study history is to know the ending before you begin,” said Professor Ryan Paul, lecturer of history. “It is vital that we not place our own knowledge into the heads of those who came before. We would do well to remember that the past was someone’s present, and hopefully those that come after us will afford us the same courtesy.”The Department of History, Sociology and Anthropology at Southern Utah University is an intriguing blend of the past and the present. Faculty help to equip students with critical thinking and communication skills which enable them to investigate past and present human cultures and societies, identify key events that express change over time, and explain historical continuity and change. Students learn skills that allow them to communicate their findings logically, analytically, and effectively.

Ryan Paul

Social

Industry Expertise

Research
Toys and Hobbies
Education/Learning

Areas of Expertise

Utah National Parks History
Utah Parks Company
American History
History Through Film
Historic Preservation
Utah National Parks
Museums
Local History
Public History
National Park History
Utah Shakespeare Festival
Cultural History
DC Comics
Iron County History

Education

University of Mississippi

M.A.

History

Southern Utah University

M.A.

Arts Administration

Weber State University

B.S.

History

Accomplishments

Influencer Certificate

Southern Utah University, 2017, 2019

Phil Notarianni Distinguished Service Award

Utah Museums Association, 2016

Outstanding Tem Award

Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, 2007

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Affiliations

  • Cedar City Historic Preservation Commission
  • Utah Museums Association

Media Appearances

History of SUU Course Celebrates 125th Anniversary

SUU News  online

2022-01-04

As Southern Utah University celebrates its 125th anniversary, students have the opportunity to take a new history course temporarily being offered in celebration. History of SUU (HIST 4700) will highlight SUU’s biggest moments and historical triumphs, from its beginnings as a small teacher training school to a fully-accredited university.

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Speak Your Piece Podcast Season 2, Episode 14

Utah Department of Heritage and Arts  online

2021-03-01

In this episode of Speak Your Piece, authors Ryan Paul and Janet Seegmiller, tell the story of the estimated 40,000 high school and college age students, who spent their summers working for UPC.

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Old Irontown day; ‘Utah’s first ghost town’ provides a peek into pioneer iron production

ST. George News  online

2020-04-05

Despite brimming optimism, the church’s first try at iron production right after the first settlers arrived in Cedar City didn’t go very well. By 1858, it closed, not having produced iron of the quality needed to help the pioneer effort.

Ten years later a group of settlers was ready to try it again, but this time it wasn’t a church-run enterprise, it was basically a venture capital operation envisioned by wealthy merchant Ebenezer Hanks, said Ryan Paul, Frontier Homestead State Park Museum curator. This time its location was approximately 24 miles southwest of Cedar City on the banks of Pinto Creek. Fittingly, it was christened “Iron City.”

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Event Appearances

Main Street Minutes

A.P.E.X. Events  Southern Utah University

2020-10-15

Articles

Singaway

Zion National Park Forever Project

Ryan Paul & Janet Seegmiller

As part of the Utah Parks Company History Project, Janet Seegmiller and Ryan Paul have been working for 15 years to compile the stories, memories, histories and priceless photographs of the legendary women and men who worked for UPC from 1923 to 1972.

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Remembering The Cedar City Main Street Fire

Iron County Today

Ryan Paul

2021-10-01

At 2:00 a.m., 25 of March, 1962, the worst fire in Cedar City’s history broke out. Affecting seven buildings located on the south end of Main Street, it caused over one million dollars in damage and destroyed property of at least seven businesses.

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Courses

HIST 1700 American Civilization

The fundamentals of American history including political, economic, and social development of American institutions and ideas.

HIST 3400 Practice of Public History

This course explores the ways in which history is presented outside the classroom: in museums, archives, television, podcasts, libraries, and in digital spaces. This course introduces students to the field of public history, teaches skills in historical interpretation and archival research, and explores the challenges of presetting the past to a variety of audiences and contexts.

HIST 3820 History of the National Parks

This course introduces undergraduates to history and challenges of creating and maintaining the places and programs that make up the U.S. national park system. Students will learn about the variety of resources, values, viewpoints, and ideas that are represented in the more than 400 units of the national park system, which stretches from Guam to Maine and Alaska to the Virgin Islands. The role of the federal agency in charge of the parks, the National Park Service (NPS), will be explored, including its work in community recreation and historic preservation. The course emphasizes the unprecedented challenges the national parks faced during the early years, the role of tourism and the need to make the parks relevant to an ever-more-diverse society.

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