Michael Galaty, associate professor of anthropology, took the coveted Millsaps College Distinguished Professor Award this year during the 2008 commencement ceremony. Each year, the award is presented to a faculty member who has inspired students through their excellence as a teacher, and whose writing, research and artistic accomplishments are of the highest quality, enhancing their teaching and the students’ learning.
Dr. Richard Smith, dean of the College, presented Dr. Galaty with this prestigious award. “When you speak of Millsaps’ remarkable role as a leader in undergraduate research—as a liberal arts college that competes with the nation’s top universities—one name is bound to surface,” Dr. Smith said.
“Dr. Galaty has created a remarkable evolution in the opportunities available to our students for anthropological research. He has built an international reputation for his research during his tenure at Millsaps College.”
Dr. Galaty, who earned his B.A. from Grinnell College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, serves as field director for the Mallakastra Regional Archeaological Project in central Albania, and has directed archaeological research on the property of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship.
He sits on two committees for the Archaeological Institute of America, the oldest and most prestigious archeaological organization in the country. He has also been a key member of the team which recently secured a grant from the Keck Foundation to support the creation of a laboratory for archeological chemistry. This innovative program, unique in the country if not the world, will put students in the field to do archeaology, and then in the lab to analyze artifacts.
“As a faculty leader, Dr. Galaty consistently gets high marks with his students. He is a challenging teacher, yet maintains an excellent rapport with them. As an outstanding instructor, Dr. Galaty earns respects from his students and his colleagues, and brings honor to his field worldwide,” said Dr. Smith, as he presented Dr. Galaty with the award.
Dr. Galaty has been with Millsaps since 1999. His wife, Tanya Newkirk, also works as the College as the assistant director of the newly developed department of international studies. They have one son, Liam.
