Head of National Park Service speaks at Clemson

David Vela, newly named deputy director exercising the authority of the director of the National Park Service, will discuss how he plans to lead the park service into its second century at the 2019 George B. Hartzog Jr. Lecture this week in Clemson. The lecture will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at Clemson University. The lecture is free and open to the public. The Clemson University Institute for Parks presents the annual lecture and an accompanying awards program to showcase leading figures in the field of conservation. The lecture and awards program are named for George B. Hartzog Jr., the seventh director of the National Park Service. Vela’s lecture will focus on developing a park service that focuses on people by sharing more inclusive stories from parks and telling the stories that haven’t been told about those who helped create our nation, engaging the next generation of the National Park Service workforce, and reaching a broader, more diverse American population, both as employees and visitors.