Dixie State University to host presentation on an American family’s life in Arabia

Sharing the insights and experiences he gained while living in Arabia for 20 years, Dr. Joseph B. Platt will present at the next installment of the President’s Colleagues of Dixie State University meeting series. 

Platt will share his lecture "An American Family's Arabian Odyssey: Twenty Years in the Arabian Gulf" at noon on Jan. 6. He will present in Lecture Hall 156 of Dixie State’s Russell C. Taylor Health Science Center, located on the Dixie Regional Medical Center campus at 1526 East Medical Center Drive. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Platt, his wife, Paula, and their four children lived in Arabia while Platt served as the wildlife advisor to the king of Bahrain for seven years and the environmental advisor to the Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for 14 years. As personal advisor to the rulers of Bahrain and Dubai, Platt was seconded to the rulers of other Arab countries.

Platt is an environmental biologist working with the protection of endangered species. He teaches in the Biological Sciences Department at Dixie State and continues to work with renewable energy developers in wind and solar energy facilities throughout the U.S. He earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife from Utah State University, a master’s in zoology from Brigham Young University and a doctorate in ecology from Cornell University.

The President’s Colleagues meeting series will continue at noon on Feb. 2 in the Taylor Health Science Center with a presentation by Ron Smith on volcanoes and dark matter. 

The President’s Colleagues of DSU, established more than 20 years ago by former DSU President Douglas Alder, is a group of retired professors and other professionals. Alder, who also started DSU’s Honors Program, organized the group as a way to increase academic activities on campus.