Meet the Family
by Theresa Desmond, Editor

They’ve seen it all, from drawers of preserved squirrels to a house built of rubber tires to a voice box (the building, not the larynx). And fortunately for Continuum and its readers, they’ve written about it all, sharing their stories with elegance, humor, and insight.

“They” are each represented in this issue: writers Ann Jardine Bardsley BA’84, Ann Whitney Floor BFA’85, and Lee Siegel, all of whom write for the University’s Marketing & Communications office and regularly contribute to Continuum. Their occasional forays into these pages have introduced dozens of fascinating University people and ideas to Continuum readers.

And their contributions—along with those of so many other Continuum writers—are the reason the magazine took home a 2003 “Award of Excellence” for magazine writing from the CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) western district.

Bardsley was already being published by age 11, when she co-authored a “Meals for Young Cooks” children’s magazine column with her mother. During her undergraduate days at the U, she was a news reporter and the arts and entertainment editor for the Daily Utah Chronicle and, after graduation, worked as a feature reporter for the Deseret Morning News and as a marketing and public relations consultant for high-tech companies. Her broad knowledge of campus has led to Continuum stories about everything from the Rhodes Scholar program to campus trees to this issue’s article on the Utah Population Database.

Floor’s association with the University is also a long one—in fact, one of her Continuum contributions was a story about exploring the tunnels underneath the Park Building when she was a child. (It’s appropriate, then, that she’s writing about campus planning in this issue.) After graduating with a theatre degree (and tap-dancing in the chorus of "Funny Girl" for Pioneer Theatre Company), she worked for Coalition for Utah’s Future/Project 2000 and ran her own business, Random Projects, offering project organization, facilitation, and writing services—which she now brings to the U.

Siegel spent eight years as a science reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune and, before that, had been science writer for the Los Angeles Associated Press bureau for a decade. His extensive science knowledge and his camaraderie with the U’s scientists have produced several Continuum stories, including profiles of geologist Frank Brown, biologist Jim Ehleringer, and physicist Valy Vardeny, and, in this issue, a story about the Utah Brain Institute. Siegel’s book, Windows into the Earth: The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, was written with U geophysics professor Robert Smith.

Another writer takes leave of Continuum in this issue. Our longtime editorial assistant, Nettie Pendley BA’59, retired in October, but not before contributing her umpteenth version of “Through the Years,” book reviews for “Bookshelf,” and her keen editorial and organizational talents. Nettie’s skills are matched only by her graciousness—as many alumni can attest to—and her gentle eye for detail will be sorely missed.

Two new Continuum staffers have joined us: Tiffini Widlansky BS’96 began in October as the editorial assistant, and Casey Foley BS’96 has been the magazine’s advertising manager since September. Like the writers, their contributions do the University proud, and we’re happy they’re part of this somewhat functional family.