At this time of the semester, when we stop to take stock of what we’ve done over the past year, I’m always inspired and astounded at the breadth and scope of the research done by our graduate students, faculty, and undergraduates in the Department of Anthropology.

We have many examples of faculty mentors publishing with their students, including Dr. Tetreault and graduate student Sarah Tahir who co-authored with two physicians an article appearing in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health based upon research conducted after the 2016 election on American Muslim women’s responses to rising Islamophobia. Dr. Hefner mentored his first year PhD student, Micayla Spiros, through writing her first article that was published in Forensic Anthropology. Dr. Fenton and graduate student Mari Isa and associates recently published on their research in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Drs. Howard and Hunt mentored undergraduate student Funmi Odumosu and graduate student Anna Martinez-Hume on an article that appeared in Medical Anthropology.

Recently, our two newest archaeology faculty members, Dr. Stacey Camp and Dr. Kurt Rademaker were in China and Peru (respectively) over the semester break for research. Dr. Gabriel Wrobel is doing research in Australia this semester during his sabbatical.

Graduate student Emily Milton, who came with Dr. Rademaker from Northern Illinois University to finish her master’s degree, was just awarded a Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research for her MA thesis project entitled, “Incremental micro-analysis of enamel to reconstruct end-of-life history and season of death for South American camelids: Implications for archaeology and paleoclimatology.” Emily is one of only six anthropology students nationwide to be awarded a Sigma Xi grant on this cycle.

As I write this, one of our advanced undergraduates is attending and presenting at the Society for Historical Archaeology meeting, his first professional conference. While these are recent examples of our more advanced students and faculty members’ engagement with research and mentorship of research, I also want to note the wonderful mentorship of Dr. Lynnette King and other faculty members who worked with undergraduate students on research projects over the past year. Dr. King organized our second annual Anthropology Undergraduate Research Showcase that took place just before break and it was a huge success – we had 37 posters and 51 presenters on topics in all subfields. Along with many other faculty members and graduate students, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with the undergraduates about their presentations. The excitement that the undergraduates have for anthropology and their enthusiasm for applying an anthropological perspective to the world’s issues is truly inspiring.

Thank you for your interest in the department, and many thanks to those that have reached out to help our students attend conferences and otherwise support their research.

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