Stokes, William Lee, 1915-1994

Dr. William Lee Stokes (1915-1994) was the chairman of the Geology Department at the University of Utah from 1955 to 1968. Stokes' focus of study was geology, mineral deposits, stratigraphy, dinosaurs, creationism vs. evolutionism, and religion's dependance on science. Stokes published seven books and more than 100 journal articles from 1949 through 1994. During his life, he gave many lectures on geology, science and religion, dinosaurs, and earthquakes. His first invited lecture was held at the University of Nebraska in 1970.

Stokes was born in Hiawatha, Utah on March 27, 1915. He entered Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1933. There he studied under George H. Hansen at a time when the BYU Geology Department was a small organization. He was a student assistant for most of his five years at BYU, and earned a bachelor's degree in 1937 and a master's degree in 1938. His masters thesis on stratigraphy in Emery County, Utah, was awarded the Sigma Xi Medal as the best graduate research project for 1938. He married Betty Asenath Curtis on September 7, 1939, with whom he raised a family of four children.

Stokes received a number of offers to continue his graduate work, and in 1938 he accepted a position as a research assistant at Princeton University, where he commenced a Ph.D. program studying the uranium- and dinosaur-rich Morrison Formation of the Colorado Plateau. He remained at Princeton for three years and received his degree in 1941. From 1942 to 1947, following graduation and as a result of his intensive studies of the Morrison Formation, he was offered a job with the United States Geological Survey team for the western United States. He remained with the federal government during the World War II period, mapping and evaluating deposits of vanadium and uranium in the western United States.

In 1947, Stokes accepted employment at the University of Utah, as he could spend more time with his family as an academician than as a field geologist. After progressing through the ranks of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor, he became chairman of the Department of Geology in 1955 and served in that position until 1968. He served on a number of university committees, including the Publications Committee (1955-1957), the Tenure Advisory Committee (1970-1973), and the subcommittee of Promotion and Tenure Advisory Committee (1972-1973). He also supervised two National Science Foundation projects on the teaching of geology to gifted high school students. In addition, from 1965 to 1973 he was on the advisory board of the Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey. During the next two years, he advised the Utah State Parks and Recreation Division on the signs placed in the Utah State Parks. After a thirty-six-year career, Stokes retired from the University of Utah in 1983.

Stokes named thirteen new geological formations important in deciphering the geologic history of eastern Utah. He also organized the Earth Science Museum, forerunner of the present Utah Museum of Natural History, and was its director from 1960 to 1965. In addition, he organized and directed the University of Utah Cooperative Dinosaur Project. This project was self-supporting and its chief field operations were carried on at a "dig" now known as the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry near Cleveland, Utah. The project has provided material for forty-two complete, mounted skeletons on display throughout the world. Several new species have been identified at this quarry, including the Stokesosaurus, named for Stokes by his colleague in paleontology, James H. Madsen, Jr.

Stokes served as director of the program that compiled the first state geologic map of Utah to help the Utah State Land Board assess mineral resources located on state lands. Today, that map is considered a classic, and it is actively sought by collectors. Stokes was also a prolific writer. He authored or co-authored 125 technical papers and twenty-eight books from 1948 to 1993. His texts have been best sellers, and have been used in colleges and universities in all fifty states and some foreign countries. Stokes was a writer for geological conventions and field trips, having contributed about thirty papers to guidebooks for these events in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. He wrote about 100 other articles for a variety of national and international technical journals. For many years he wrote the review article on geology for the Encyclopedia Americana Annual Yearbooks. In addition, he was a published poet.

The recipient of many honors during his career, Stokes was elected to honorary membership in the Utah Geological Association in 1976. He received the University of Utah's 1980 Best Teacher Award and Brigham Young University's 1985 Achievement Award. In 1987, the Museum of San Rafael in Castle Dale named a hall for him. In 1994, Stokes was honored by Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt with the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology. Governor Leavitt cited his truly extraordinary impact on how Utahns view the present landscape of Utah and its ancient habitats. Stokes died on December 12, 1994, due to complications related to Adult Onset Diabetes.

From the guide to the William Lee Stokes papers, 1844-1996, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)