David Ware will deliver the annual Robert B. Walz Lecture in Arkansas and Regional History, 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 20, in the Foundation Hall of the Reynolds Center on the campus of Southern Arkansas University.
Dr. Ware’s presentation is “Sigils, Signposts and Stories: Some Arkansas Symbols and Why They Matter.”
Since 2001 Dr. Ware has served as the State Capitol Historian, a position within the office of the Arkansas Secretary of State. His duties include conserving historic records, preparing special exhibits, and consulting with architects and contractors on maintenance and renovation of the Capitol.
He is the author of It’s Official: The Real Stories Behind Arkansas’s State Symbols, published by the Butler Center Press
This compelling volume examines the political motives and the economic ambitions that led to the designation of representative symbols. The list of symbols has grown notably over the years and ranges from the four official state songs, the state soil, the state cooking vessel, and the state dance. Dr. Ware explains that the official symbols reveal how Arkansans have viewed their state and their hopes for its future.
Dr. Ware also compiled and edited the 2008 edition of the Historical Report of the Secretary of State.
He has been a park ranger at the Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming, a curator at the Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana, and a Humanities scholar at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum in Wyoming.
He taught in the history departments of Wichita State University, Arkansas Tech University, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
A native of the District of Columbia, Dr. Ware earned his Ph.D. in history from Arizona State University.
Dr. Robert Walz taught history at SAU from 1958 to 1987. He promoted the study of Arkansas history through his scholarship, preservation of historic photographs, and leadership in state organizations.
The Walz Lectureship was established in 1995 with a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Curtistine A. Walz, in honor of her husband’s long service to the university.
The lecture is sponsored by the College of Liberal and Performing Arts at Southern Arkansas University.
The lecture is free and open to the public. The audience is also welcomed to attend a reception for David Ware in the Reynolds Center following the lecture.
