Dr. Goldstein Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Lynne Goldstein Receives Society for American Archaeology Lifetime Achievement Award

The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announce Dr. Lynne Goldstein (Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Campus Archaeology Program) received the Society for American Archaeology Lifetime Achievement Award at the 84th Annual Meeting in Albuquerque New Mexico on April 12, 2019. This prestigious award is in recognition of her pivotal theoretical and empirical contributions to the field, in the areas of mortuary archaeology, Midwestern prehistory, historical archaeology, archaeological ethics and repatriation, public engagement, as well as professional and institutional leadership.

Lynne Goldstein earned her BA degree in Anthropology from Beloit College in 1971 and her MA and PhD from Northwestern University (in 1973 and 1976, respectively). Her commitment to archaeology began even earlier, in her high school days through volunteer work at the Field Museum of Natural History and participation in the Kampsville Project. Over the course of her career, she taught at both the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1976-1996) and Michigan State University (1996-2018) and chaired both departments. She retired from MSU in August 2018 and now holds emerita status.

Over the 48-year period of her career (and more than 65 publications and 200 conference papers), she has made fundamental theoretical and empirical contributions to archaeology. One of the hallmarks of Goldstein’s career has been her intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm about taking on new projects and exploring a range of different research questions. This curiosity, when coupled with her advocacy for public engagement with archaeology and her passion for communicating archaeological knowledge to diverse audiences, has driven her involvement in an array of projects.

Her service to the SAA has been recognized by five Presidential Recognition Awards. Her service, both on the SAA Task Force on Repatriation and as an advisor, from 1990-2010 made important contributions to the form and implementation of NAGPRA legislation. She also served on the Smithsonian Repatriation Committee for many years. Lynne served as Secretary of the SAA (1988-1991), editor of American Antiquity (1996-2000), as co-Chair with Barbara Mills on the Task Force on Gender and Research Grants Submission (2013-2019), and currently chairs the SAA Publication Committee (2018-2021). She was similarly active in the American Anthropological Association, serving as Publication Director for the Archaeology Section (2013-2017), Liaison to the Register of Professional Archaeologists (2016-2018), and on additional committees. This does not even touch upon her leadership in the Midwest Archaeological Conference, Wisconsin Archaeological Survey, Florida Public Archaeology Network, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and other national and regional organizations. Dr. Goldstein has chaired 18 dissertation committees, served on dozens more, and mentored graduate (and undergraduate) students in programs around the US, in the United Kingdom, and beyond. We thank her for her service and look forward to keeping up with her retirement.

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