Pitt’s Frederick Honors College commemorated 20 years of programming at its Wyoming preserve

On Jan. 22, the University of Pittsburgh David C. Frederick Honors College celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Allen L. Cook Spring Creek Preserve gift with the launch of a refreshed exhibit space in Posvar Hall.

Allen L. Cook, a Wyoming rancher and conservationist, gifted the Spring Creek Preserve to Pitt in 2005, creating a permanent off-site learning environment for honors students. The preserve is one of the signature accomplishments of Founding Dean G. Alec Stewart and a cornerstone of the Frederick Honors College, the only honors college in the nation with its own dedicated off-site preserve.

“The Allen L. Cook Spring Creek Preserve is not only historically significant, but our stewardship of the land is a unique and distinctive honor,” Frederick Honors College Dean Nicola Foote said. “For 20 years, the preserve has enabled hundreds of Pitt students across majors and disciplines to take part in hands-on immersive research and creative projects.”

Located on the Jurassic Morrison Formation, the preserve provides students hands-on access to paleontology, archaeology, ecology and North American history. Since 2009, Pitt faculty and Wyoming-based experts have led more than 200 students representing 50-plus majors from all four of Pitt’s campuses in interdisciplinary research and creative projects there.

Jo Howell (pictured above), a history major, is one of those students. Howell, who spoke at the commemorative event, said the program gave her lifelong connections and had a profound effect on her scholarship.

“Being a part of the Wyoming Preserve Program during its 20th anniversary feels very special to me,” Howell said. “The preserve changed my life for the better, and I can only imagine how many other people were impacted in a similar manner and how many more will follow in my footsteps.”

Learn more about this year’s program.