Chair’s Vision

 

Looking towards the future, we confront various challenges and opportunities in our pursuit of academic and research excellence.

A man with short gray hair and glasses wearing a red plaid shirt stands in front of a bookshelf filled with books and decorative items.

The Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida (UCF) embodies the core qualities of the discipline’s holistic four-field approach. Our faculty, staff, and students work to advance understandings of human variability across time, culture, and geography through innovative research, rigorous scholarship, and generative local-to-global engagements/partnerships. 

Recognizing the unique perspectives and vital contributions that archaeologists, biological anthropologists, and cultural anthropologists bring to the complexities shaping our fast-paced interconnected world, UCF Anthropology stands as a model for efficiently, imaginatively, and collaboratively addressing the myriad multiscalar challenges confronting 21st century humanity. 

My department vision entails building on these core strengths and amplifying our impact both within and beyond UCF. Guided by seven principles that inform our near- and long-term strategic growth, we stand to become an even more resilient, dynamic, and productive academic unit when our expertise and skillsets are effectively harnessed.

Accordingly, we must continually:

  1. Empower Students: Prepare the next generation of anthropologists for professional and academic careers through transformative undergraduate/graduate classroom experiences and hands-on field and laboratory opportunities;  
  2. Enhance Capacities: Identify, pursue, and secure the essential resources, professional development, and other structural support required to ensure faculty success across all academic, research, and service responsibilities; 
  3. Expand Networks: Strengthen alumni and donor connections to build enduring partnerships that enhance our programs and support student and faculty success; 
  4. Engage Stakeholders: Build deeper collaborations with local, global, public, and private partners to bring anthropological knowhow to current problem-solving efforts;  
  5. Elevate Visibility: Showcase the real-world impact that our faculty and students deliver across the university, local community, and wider world;  
  6. Embrace Challenges: Transform unexpected obstacles into catalysts for programmatic growth, academic resilience, and research innovation; 
  7. Explore New Frontiers: Pursue interdisciplinary research, emerging anthropological subfields, and pedagogical advances that propel us to the discipline’s forefront; 

These seven core principles are key to unlocking the department’s full potential and solidifying our position as Florida’s leading academic and research-driven Anthropology program. With sustained support and strategic investment, we stand poised to drive anthropological innovation and maximize our global impact in the years to come. 

Ty Matejowsky

Professor and Department Chair