Bowman Hawkes

H. Bowman Hawkes founded the Department of Geography at the University of Utah, and was a professor in the department from 1947 to 1977. He was recruited to the University of Utah by President A. Ray Olpin, who knew Professor Hawkes’ reputation for excellence in teaching as a graduate student when both were at Ohio State University. Professor Hawkes served as chair of the Department of Geography for its first 13 years. 

Under Professor Hawkes the Department of Geography grew rapidly, in large part due to his teaching. Master’s and Ph.D. programs were established, with the first Ph.D. awarded in 1951. Heavy teaching loads prompted Professor Hawkes to pioneer closed-circuit TV instruction, which proved popular with students. Professor Hawkes’ favorite time with students was investigating the earth on his well-known field trips, which he planned based on his travels around the state of Utah. He also taught extension courses in several towns in the state, as well as summer schools at universities like Washington State, Wisconsin State, Northwestern, and Peabody. His papers and slides from his field classes are archived in Marriott Library.

Professor Hawkes’ special sensitivity toward resource conservation and stewardship led to his invitation to present the prestigious Frederick William Reynolds Lecture at the University of Utah in 1960, a presentation which he entitled Paradoxes of the Conservation Movement. In 1960-61 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach at the Free University of Berlin, and the University of the Saarland, where he lectured in German. He served as president of the Association of American Geographers Pacific Coast Region and the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Region.

In 1962, Professor Hawkes was called on to represent the discipline of Geography in the National Science Foundation’s development of the new Earth Science curriculum for secondary schools following the Sputnik incident, which prompted a whole new national initiative in science education. Back on campus he continued to attract and inspire students. In 1975 he was awarded the University’s highest honor to its teaching faculty, the Distinguished Teaching Award. Even after retirement, he was brought back for several years to teach courses especially identified with him. 

A scholarship for paleoclimate research was established in Dr. Hawkes’ name by Geography alum Dr. Bill Rember in 2024.