Dear Friends of Anthropology,
Welcome to the first edition of the Friends of Anthropology (FOA) E-news. This e-publication is intended to keep you informed about the developments and events associated with this exciting new organization. One of the most inspiring aspects of FOA is the impressive collection of professionals and alumnae who are contributing time and talent to ensure the group's growth and success.
Board of Directors News
The steering committee has been hard at work developing the structure and organization of the FOA. The board of directors and committees have been identified. Many board positions have been filled, but others remain open. Following is information about the two newest board members:
John Hedrick has accepted the Vice President of Community Education position. He has many ideas for reaching out to the community, and he will work with Richard Shackley on the community education committee. John attended the California Maritime Academy in 1960, then was graduated with an M.A. in Anthropology from SDSU in 1968; later he attended the University of Pennsylvania, ABD. He taught Anthropology 101 and Archaeology courses at Penn State for two years. He returned to San Diego, where he and his father ran an ocean instruments business for more than 30 years, but which John recently sold. For the last 25 years, John has owned and operated a side business, that he now runs with his son, called Bush Hawk Products. It is a shoulder harness that replaces tri-pods for cameras for fast-action photography and outdoor enthusiasts.
While John has diversified outside the field of anthropology, he loves the discipline and appreciates the four-field approach. When he was only 16 years old and working in a neighbor's yard, he accidentally discovered a La Jolla Indian burial ground. His first field work was with Betty Shutler in the New Heberidis, now called Vanuatu, in 1968, and again under a National Science Fellowship grant through the University of Pennsylvania in 1972-1973. John worked the Presidio and did a paper on the probable west entrance of the Presidio stockade - later mentioned by Dr. Paul Ezell in a paper about the Presidio. From 1979-1981, he had a CRM company with about 50 employees that was active in Arizona. John has board experience with the Mission Bay Yacht Club from 1991-1999 and was the commodore in 1998.
Dr. Jill K. Gardner is a new Member-At-Large and serves with Dr. Tim Gross on the Resource Development committee. Jill has 16 years of CRM project experience, archaeological fieldwork, research, and publication in western North America, primarily in southern, central, and eastern California (particularly the Mojave Desert). Additionally, she has participated in excavations in Egypt and Jordan. She earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with an emphasis in the archaeology of hunter-gatherers and arid environments.
Jill's B.A. and M.A. are from Cal State, Bakersfield; her master's thesis committee chair and mentor is Dr. Mark Q. Sutton. Jill is excited to have recently been named the managing editor for the journal California Archaeology with editor Terry Jones at Cal State, San Luis Obispo. She is a co-author along with Mark Q. Sutton and Kristin D. Sobolik of a publication in press at the University of Arizona Press called Paleonutrition. Among others, Jill published an article called Advances in Understanding Mojave Desert Prehistory in the 2007 edited volume of California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity. Learn more about Jill on the ASM Affiliates website: http://asmaffiliates.com/jgardner.htm.
Following is a list of current board members:
Rebecca Apple, VP of Correspondence
Michael Baksh, VP Member-at-Large
Bill Eckhardt, VP Member-at-Large
Cynthia Dillon Eischen, VP of Communication
Dennis Gallegos, VP of Finance
Jill Gardner, VP Member-at-Large
Phil Greenfeld, VP of Speaker Series
Tim Gross, VP Member-at-Large
John Hedrick, VP of Community Education
Seth Mallios, VP Ex-Officio
Ron May, VP of Internships - Govt & Non-Profit Organizations
Brian Mooney, President
Andrew Pigniolo, VP of Academic Programs
Richard Shackley, VP Member-at-Large
Steven Shackley, VP Member-at-Large
Betty Shutler, VP, President Elect
Rose Tyson, VP of Social Affairs
There are three leadership positions open: Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Resource Development, Vice President of Board Development, and Vice President of Internships (Business & Government). Please contact Trina Hester (619-594-1562 or thester@mail.sdsu.edu), or another board member, if you are interested in serving on the FOA board. Help is also needed on several committees.
Upcoming Events
The Friends of Anthropology at SDSU seek to promote the appreciation, relevance, understanding, and diversity of the human experience. Through its Speaker Series, the FOA will achieve this objective and build partnerships in the community. On April 16, 2009, at 7:00 p.m., SDSU 1973 alumna Dr. Meredith Small, Cornell University professor and author of Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent, and The Culture of Our Discontent: Beyond the Medical Model of Mental Illness, will speak on The Natural History of Babies. She is a regular contributor for Discover, Natural History Magazine, Scientific American, and New Scientist, among others. Her articles cover a wide range of topics from chimpanzee hunting to family structure among the Bari of Venezuela. Small is also a commentator for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Please check out her bio on Cornell's Anthropology website. A dessert reception will immediately follow the presentation. Special thanks to our current sponsors: ASM Affiliates, Statistical Research Incorporated, and Laguna Mountain Environmental. >>View the invitation (.pdf)
The next quarterly meeting is Friday, April 17, 2009, from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. in the dean’s conference room at San Diego State University.
More social events and receptions will be planned as the newly formed FOA Social Committee has convened. This hard-working committee consists of Rose Tyson, Bill Eckhardt, Betty Shutler, Grace Johnson, and faculty member, Arion Mayes. Special help from SDSU Anthropology Student Council presidents Sam Kobari (grad) and Dervla Olearly (undergrad) is sure to make the efforts of this popular committee successful.
The Friends of Anthropology is throwing a graduation party on Saturday, May 16, 2009, for this year’s 60 graduates. The FOA will also be involved in the graduation ceremony on Friday, May 22, 2009. We hope many of you will join us and please feel free to contribute to the celebration.
If you have information you would like to share with the FOA, comments, or suggestions for this E-news, please contact Cynthia Dillon Eischen, Vice President of Communications, FOA; 2008 SDSU alumna; and Director of Interpretation and Education at the San Diego Museum of Man.