In 1891, Lucien L. Nunn, working with Nicola Tesla and George Westinghouse, Jr., pioneered the world’s first commercial production of high-tension alternating current (AC) for long-distance transmission—something Thomas Edison deemed dangerous and irresponsible. After creating the Telluride Power Company, Nunn constructed the state-of-the-art Olmsted Power Plant in Provo Canyon and the Ontario Power Works at Niagara Falls. To support this new technology, he developed an imaginative model of industrial training that became so compelling that he ultimately abandoned his entrepreneurial career to devote his wealth and talents to experimenting with a new model of liberal education. In 1917, Nunn founded Deep Springs College in eastern California. The school remains one of the most daring, progressive, and selective institutions of higher learning in America.
In his new book, “The Electric Edge of Academe” (from University of Utah Press) L. Jackson Newell, Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership at the University of Utah, recounts the saga of Lucien Nunn and Deep Springs College. On Thursday’s AU we’ll learn this fascinating history and explore issues in higher education today. Our guests include Newell and Ross Peterson, former Vice President of University Advancement and Professor of History at Utah State University. Newell and Peterson are both past presidents of Deep Springs College.