Heelan 147
712-279-5537
Dr. Brian T. Hazlett, Director

prairiestudies@briarcliff.edu

The Center for Prairie Studies was established in 2009 through a grant from the Gilchrist Foundation.  The Center provides leadership and fosters campus efforts that forge an identity with where we are.  The Center assists the University’s goal, “to educate to acquire and respect a sense of place, from the prairies of Iowa’s Loess Hills to the global arena” especially as we “promote a critical understanding of our unique geographic location and our cultural response to it.”  Prairie studies may include the environment, literature, history, politics, architecture, or the arts.   

Core functions of the Center for Prairie Studies

Sponsoring lectures and conferences on campus.

Providing course development grants to faculty who desire to incorporate greater prairie content within their syllabi.  Application

Offering research and travel opportunities for faculty and students.

Funding annual scholarships to Briar Cliff students showing a demonstrated interest in prairie studies.  Application    Press Release 5/3/2011

Sponsoring summer workshops and developing curriculum for Siouxland area teachers.

Conducting prairie walks and actively supporting local prairie preservation.

Maintaining a prairie resource collection. 

Activities for 2011-2012 

November 15, 2011

Jordon Watkins and Dr. Hazlett are interviewed on the Sioux City Prairie by KMEG reporter Olivia Wilmsen. 

November 9, 2011

The western Iowa premiere of Green Fire, the first full-length documentary film about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, 7:00 PM in the Clare/Canticle rooms of Briar Cliff University’s St. Francis Student Center.  Co-sponsored with SIFE.   

September 28, 2011
Hosting author Robert Schneiders whose lecture Lessons from the 2011 Flood: The Missouri and the Future of the Great Plains was held in the Clare Room of the St. Francis Student Center.  

September 12-14, 2011
BCU Senior environmental science major, Jordon Watkins and Dr. Hazlett attend the symposium, Grasslands in a Global Context, held at Kansas State University as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Konza Prairie Biological Station.  

July 28-29, 2011
Attending the Iowa Prairie Conference held at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville.  

Activities for 2010-2011 

June 3-5, 2011
Supporting the 35th Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

May 1 and 7, 2011
Student-organized prairie rescue on the Briar Cliff campus supported by the Center for Prairie Studies, BCU Student Government, and Residence Halls Association.   

April 13, 2011
The Buffalo Commons on the Plains and Prairie, a lecture and campus visit by Frank and Deborah Popper (originators of the “Buffalo Commons” concept). Poster.  The Iowa Prairie Network led a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event.

Jan. 27, 2011
Dr. Hazlett and student, Jordon Watkins, attend the Iowa Prairie Network's Winter Meeting/Workshop at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.   

Sept. 26, 2010
Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild - a joint appearance of photographer Michael Forsberg and author Dan O'Brien.  Poster  The Iowa Prairie Network led a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event. 

Sept. 11, 2010
Two BCU students (Nate Becker and Travis Helmers) and Dr. Hazlett attend the annual meeting of the Iowa Native Plant Society held at Timberhill Oak Savanna near Leon, IA.  

August 1-5, 2010
Attending the 22nd North American Prairie Conference at the University of Northern Iowa.  

Activities during the 2009-2010 academic year  

June 4-6, 2010
Supporting the 34th Loess Hills Prairie Seminar.

April 29, 2010
Two botany labs view the spring flora on the Sioux City Prairie.     

April 24, 2010
Student-organized prairie rescue on the Briar Cliff campus supported by the Center for Prairie Studies, BCU Student Government, and Residence Halls Association.   

April 16-18, 2010
Prairie Ecology field trip to Konza Prairie Biological Station and other sites in the Kansas Flint Hills. 

April 14, 2010
Nature's Instructions for a Sustainable Future are Written in Grasslands - a lecture by Missoula-based environmental writer Richard Manning (author of Grassland and Rewilding the West: Restoration in a Prairie Landscape)  Poster  The Iowa Prairie Network conducted a walk on the Sioux City Prairie immediately prior to this event. 

March 19-21, 2010
Attending the 2010 Rivers and Wildlife Celebration held in Kearney, NE.

Jan. 30, 2010
Attending Iowa Prairie Network's 20th Winter Meeting/Workshop at the DMACC Ankeny Campus.  

Jan. 21, 2010
Assisting three BCU students attend the 6th Annual Tallgrass Prairie Management Seminar held at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, NE. 

Sept. 30, 2009 and Oct. 9, 2009
LIBA 100 LIBA 410 walks on the Sioux City Prairie led by Dr. Jim Redmond.

Sept. 14, 2009 and  Sept. 25, 2009  
LIBA 100 walks on the Sioux City Prairie led by Dr. Hazlett.