Dr. Szuter – New Amerind Executive Director Appointed
New Amerind Executive Director Appointed
Current executive director Dr. John Ware retiring after 13 years
The Amerind Foundation board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Christine Szuter as executive director of the Amerind Foundation, commencing September 1, 2014. Dr. Szuter is professor of practice and director of the graduate Scholarly Publishing Certificate Program at Arizona State University in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies. She will succeed the current executive director, John Ware, who will be retiring to Santa Fe this summer after thirteen years as director. The Board thanks Dr. Ware for his many years of service and welcomes Dr. Szuter as Amerind’s fourth professional director in 77 years.
During Dr. Ware’s tenure Amerind’s staff and operating budget nearly doubled in size, handicapped access was added to the Amerind museum and art gallery, a new collection repository was constructed, education and exhibition programs were revamped, two new advanced seminars and a new publication program were launched, Amerind’s first membership program was initiated, and just over $3 million was added to the Amerind endowment.
Dr. Szuter holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Arizona specializing in Southwest archaeology and zooarchaeology. Her research interests include food systems, indigenous studies, digital humanities, gender studies, scholarly publishing, and public history. She has served as the director of the University of Arizona Press where she collaborated with three other university presses on the First Peoples Initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. She has served on boards and committees for the Society for American Archaeology, American Association of University Presses, National Council for Public History, University of Arizona Digital Information Management (DigIn) Certificate program, Arizona State University IHR Nexus Lab, Western National Parks Association, and Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. Dr. Szuter will move to the Amerind with her husband, Dr. Thomas Sheridan, who is a tenured professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.
ABOUT
Located in the spectacular rock formations of Texas Canyon, sixty miles east of Tucson, the Amerind Foundation and Museum was established in 1937 to foster and promote knowledge and
understanding of the Native Peoples of the Americas through research, education, and conservation.
For information about the Amerind and visiting hours, call 520-586-3666, or log onto Amerind’s website: www.amerind.org.