Over the past year and a half, I have served as the Campus Archaeologist for the MSU Campus Archaeology Program. This program was developed in 2008 to mitigate the construction work that occurs at Michigan State University, and to make sure that the Campus acts as a positive steward towards its cultural resources.
This position has allowed me to be engaged as a Principal Investigator in numerous archaeological and research projects, in addition to gaining experience serving in a mentorship role for undergraduate interns. Additionally, I have been able to play an important role in the development of a new program that focuses not only on cultural resource management, but also in collaboration with numerous campus entities, and also in revolutionary uses of digital social media for archaeological outreach. This has allowed for the engagement of many different communities throughout MSU, East Lansing, and Lansing.
From a research perspective, this program has allowed me to delve deeply into understanding how space and landscape has played such a critical role in how higher education functions. Multiple discoveries at Faculty Row, College Hall, and the Sandy Hill Plantation Sand Dune have all led to a great understanding of how the old campus was used, manipulated, and rapidly changed to meet the changing demands of education and the growing University.
CAP has also provided me with a unique perspective into program development at a university. I have been integrated into understanding thoroughly the importance of maintaining ties to campus mission, keeping relevance, and approaching a “no” as another opportunity for a “yes”. I have written about some of these issues in these posts on Campus Culture: Campus Culture I and Campus Culture II.
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