News & Events

Donna Goldstein's Research Featured in A&S Magazine

Renee Kuban — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:26:57 +0000

Donna Goldstein's Research Featured in A&S Magazine Renee Kuban Thu, 05/07/2026 - 12:26

Professor Donna M. Goldstein’s recent work has been featured in the May 2026 issue of Arts and Sciences Magazine. The story, "Rethinking what fruit flies taught science to ignore," highlights an article originally published in the Journal of the History of Biology.

The research was co-authored with former graduate student Magda Stawkowski. It examines the historical role of the fruit fly in scientific research and explores the specific biological narratives that were prioritized—or overlooked—as a result of its dominance as a model organism.

Read the full feature in Arts and Sciences Magazine

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Nicholas Puente Successfully Defended His PhD Dissertation

Renee Kuban — Thu, 07 May 2026 18:04:00 +0000

Nicholas Puente Successfully Defended His PhD Dissertation Renee Kuban Thu, 05/07/2026 - 12:04

Nicholas Puente successfully defended his PhD dissertation, "Bridging Surface and Subsurface Worlds: Entangling Maya Subterranean and Surface Practices at Punta Laguna, Yucatán, México," Nicholas's committee included Professors Sarah Kurnick (Advisor), Arthur Joyce, Gerardo Gutiérrez, Roberto Rosado-Ramirez, and James E. Brady.

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Michael Orellana Presents at the SAA Meeting

Renee Kuban — Thu, 07 May 2026 16:34:28 +0000

Michael Orellana Presents at the SAA Meeting Renee Kuban Thu, 05/07/2026 - 10:34

Michael Orellana (Biological Anthropology, PhD in Progress) presented an invited talk at the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) annual meeting.

The presentation, titled “The Impact of Genomics on Understanding the Domestication of South American Camelids: New Perspectives and Challenges,” addressed the role of genomic data in researching the domestication history of South American camelid species.

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CU Anthropology Represented at the 2026 AES Spring Conference

Renee Kuban — Tue, 05 May 2026 18:24:40 +0000

CU Anthropology Represented at the 2026 AES Spring Conference Renee Kuban Tue, 05/05/2026 - 12:24

Professor Carole McGranahan and PhD candidates Anna Wynfield, Katie Donlan, and Conor Laning presented at the American Ethnological Society (AES) Spring Conference on May 1 in Victoria, BC. The team was joined by Jessi McNeill for the panel, “When Saying Everything is Too Much: Flash Ethnography Experiments with Ethics, Responsibility, and Refusal.”

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Abigail Verneuille Named the Spring 2026 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate

Renee Kuban — Tue, 05 May 2026 17:52:36 +0000

Abigail Verneuille Named the Spring 2026 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate Renee Kuban Tue, 05/05/2026 - 11:52

Anthropology’s own Abigail Verneuille has been named the Spring 2026 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Graduate.

Abigail is graduating with a BA in Anthropology and a certificate in GIS. Her honors thesis focused on ancestral Puebloan culture, drawing on her experiences at field school in New Mexico and research in North Macedonia. She is currently featured in A&S Magazine, where she discusses her time at CU and her plans to continue her work in archaeology.

Read the article A&S Magazine

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Yuxiang Lin Succesfully Defended His Qualifying Exams

Renee Kuban — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:27:40 +0000

Yuxiang Lin Succesfully Defended His Qualifying Exams Renee Kuban Thu, 04/30/2026 - 09:27

Yuxiang Lin (Cultural Anthropology, PhD in Progress) successfully defended and passed his qualifying exams on April 28, 2026. His committee includes Kathryn Goldfarb and co-chairs Alison Cool and Carole McGranahan.

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Dennis McGilvray's Co-Authored Book Published on Storyworth

Renee Kuban — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 19:46:04 +0000

Dennis McGilvray's Co-Authored Book Published on Storyworth Renee Kuban Fri, 04/24/2026 - 13:46

Dennis McGilvray, Emeritus Faculty in Cultural Anthropology, has co-authored a 400-page collection of personal and family memories with his brother, Alex. Utilizing the Storyworth platform, the brothers compared their shared perspectives on the people, places, and events that defined their lives from childhood through adulthood. The narrative focuses on their upbringing in rural Madera County, California, located near Yosemite National Park. This collaborative memoir serves as an extensive record of their family history and life in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

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Fernando Villanea Delivers Dr Rufus Wood Leigh Lecture

Renee Kuban — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:55:17 +0000

Fernando Villanea Delivers Dr Rufus Wood Leigh Lecture Renee Kuban Mon, 04/13/2026 - 10:55

Professor Fernando Villanea recently delivered the Dr. Rufus Wood Leigh Invited Lecture at the University of Utah. The Rufus Wood Leigh Distinguished Lecture is an annual, endowed event at the University of Utah. Established by Dr. Rufus Wood Leigh, a pioneer in physical anthropology, the series features leading scholars in anthropology, genetics, and Native American studies.

Title: Neanderthal and Denisovan Genomic Variation in American Populations

Abstract: Neanderthals and Denisovans were two extinct groups of archaic human and were our closest relatives on the tree of life. Before extinction, Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred with our direct ancestors, leaving an archaic genetic inheritance that lives on in the genomes of living people, and is both a window into the past, and a legacy that aﬀects our current ﬁtness and health. Today, all global populations carry archaic ancestry to some degree, which is an active area of research due to the medical signiﬁcance of these gene variants. However, studying archaic genome ancestry in Indigenous American and admixed Latin American individuals presents a unique challenge: for over 20,000 years, that evolutionary trajectory was unique; but in the most recent 500 years, that trajectory was intermixed with the evolutionary histories of European and African populations. Modern American genomes thus carry confused signals of evolutionary processes in three sources of ancestry, which my research aims to de-convoluted to properly understand the origins, interactions, and medical importance of various archaic genome elements.

The full lecture is available to view on YouTube: Watch the Presentation

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Carla Jones Receives Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award

Renee Kuban — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:10:27 +0000

Carla Jones Receives Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award Renee Kuban Mon, 04/13/2026 - 09:10

Professor Carla Jones has received the Office of Faculty Affairs 2026 Award for Outstanding Faculty Mentoring! Recognized for her exceptional dedication to guiding colleagues and students, Professor Jones was honored at a special Chancellor’s lunch where she was presented with this prestigious award.

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Alibi Cool: Our Shakespearean Star

Renee Kuban — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:01:19 +0000

Alibi Cool: Our Shakespearean Star Renee Kuban Tue, 04/07/2026 - 10:01

A special shout-out to Alibi Cool, who was recently invited to audition for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

Alibi’s audition was even captured by Westword as part of their coverage on the festival's search for a canine performer. It’s not every day we see one of our own in the local arts news!

Read the article Westword

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