Dr. Reyes' presentation introduces a new framework to strengthen intercultural understanding and engagement, the relationship between humanity and technology, and the development of greater empathy and connection across lines of difference. Through an exploration of four lenses, Dr. Reyes invites participants to be more intentional about developing the capacity for deep reflection, contextual understanding, empathy, and community-building.
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Dr. Kyle A. Reyes currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at UVU. Before this appointment in October 2022, Dr. Reyes served as vice president of Student Affairs for five years and as UVU’s inaugural senior inclusion officer from 2014–2017. He has been at UVU for nearly 23 years in various offices and programs: TRIO Upward Bound, GEAR UP, Multicultural Student Services, Student Success & Retention, the School of Education, and the Office of the President. Dr. Reyes is also a tenured Associate Professor of Education at UVU. On October 1, 2024, Greenleaf Book Group published Dr. Reyes’s book, Lenses of Humanity: How Reflection, Connection, and Empathy Can Change Our World. Dr. Reyes has consulted with and presented to organizations in 35 states and Canada across a variety of sectors including K-12 education, higher education, business, community task forces, and faith groups. He has given more than 800 presentations over the past 19 years on issues of student success, leadership, humanity, inclusion, art, and cultural competence. In addition to serving on the Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education board, Dr. Reyes has served on numerous national, regional, and state boards. He has received multiple national and state honors for his work on access and student success in higher education.
All are invited to attend this free themed tour of Roots of Knowledge. Faculty, students, and staff from across campus have prepared to present on topics they are experts in or have done recent research about. This month’s theme explores Native American History. Free popcorn for all and prizes for those who visit at least four stops along the tour. If you are interested in presenting at one of the stops in a themed tour please reach out.
Roots of Knowledge creators, Tom and Gayle Holdman, will chronicle the intense and demanding, yet beautiful and refining collaborative process, from conception to completion, of this stunning world class glass art masterpiece.
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Due to a lifelong speech impediment, Tom Holdman expresses his light best through art. He started “speaking” through glass professionally after returning home from a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, knocking on doors and creating stained glass in his parents’ garage. More than thirty years later, he and his wife, Gayle, lead a team of 130 artists. He has collaborated with and inspired artists in all fifty states and more than one hundred countries. Gayle Holdman is an award-winning author and designer, an international public speaker, BYU Education Week presenter, and a devoted mother and grandmother. She is co-owner of Holdman Studios with her husband, Tom, where they illuminate messages of God’s love and light through stained glass. Her writing focuses on describing the themes of their art as well as encouraging each human soul to understand their worth. Gayle has a bachelor’s degree in Family Science and Human Development, is certified in Applied Positive Psychology, and speaks fluent Spanish. Together, Tom and Gayle have been able to work on close to 200 temples for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including the Rome, Paris, Orem, Payson, and Lindon locations. Roots of Knowledge led them toward their current efforts of creating the visionary and monumental Sphere of Light, a stunning center for inspiration and growth, which will focus on the light within all humanity.
