This past spring semester in the Department of Anthropology has been a tumultuous time. We’ve celebrated great achievements and made important plans for our future, and at the same time we have been, and continue to be, stunned and outraged by the Nassar scandal. All across campus and in our department, faculty struggled to cope with the knowledge that the sexual predation that occurred was possible at MSU. Our hearts go out to the young women and their families who came forward and to those who have not yet found their voice. The well-being of our undergraduate and graduate students has been utmost on our minds. Inside and outside of classes, we have been checking in with our students and offering encouragement to come forth with their concerns and needs, but also encouraging them to try to stay the course of their studies. A working group of faculty are turning an anthropological eye toward the MSU community and we anticipate an insightful analysis to share with the world.
We celebrated the amazing career of Dr. Lynne Goldstein in April at her retirement dinner with guests from across the United States. Symposia were held in her honor at the Midwest Archaeological Conference and Society for American Archaeology annual meetings. A new fellowship fund was initiated in her honor. The Lynne Goldstein Fellowship Fund was established to support Anthropology graduate students with their dissertation research, with preference given to those students who have participated in the Campus Archaeology Program. Contributions to the fund can be made through the department’s giving page https://anthropology.msu.edu/giving.
Dr. William Lovis is preparing for retirement as well, and we will celebrate his contributions at his retirement dinner in September. Symposia in his honor were also held at the Midwest Archaeological Conference and the Society for American Archaeology annual meetings. Continuing the tradition of environmental archaeology, the department is proud to announce that we have hired Dr. Kurt Rademaker and he will join us in August. Dr. Rademaker’s primary interests are in hunter-gatherers, settlement of the Americas, lithic technology, geographic information systems, interdisciplinary collaboration and education. He conducts field research in the highlands of the Peruvian Andes.
Our students continue to be a source of pride for the department. Our own Breanna Escamilla was the alumni commencement speaker at the College of Social Science Commencement in May. Be sure to read the story about our College of Social Science Outstanding Senior, Becca Albert, in this issue. And congratulations to all our accomplished undergraduate and advanced degree graduates!
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