Dr. David R. Yesner named new associate dean of the UAA Graduate School

Dr. David R. Yesner has been appointed as the new associate dean of the Graduate School at the University of Alaska Anchorage beginning Monday, Jan, 3. Dr. Yesner has been a faculty member at UAA since August 1991. He is professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences with a specialty in archaeology. In this capacity Dr. Yesner has undertaken collaborative field research projects in the Russian Far East, Argentine Tierra del Fuego, and the Yukon Territory, as well as various locations in Alaska.

Dr. Yesner was past coordinator of the Graduate Program in Anthropology at UAA and Chair of the Tripartite University-wide Faculty Evaluation Committee. He is a Faculty Fellow and member of the Executive Committee of the Environment and Natural Resources Institute at UAA.

In addition, Dr. Yesner serves on the Board of Directors for the Alaska Museum of Natural History in Mountain View and the Alaska Journal of Anthropology. He also served as past councilor for the American Quaternary Association and is currently chair of the Scientific Committee of the International Mammoth Conference.

Dr. Yesner received his B.A. degree from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in anthropology and human ecology from the University of Connecticut. Before coming to UAA, Dr. Yesner was associate professor of anthropology at the University of Southern Maine. He has also been visiting professor at Cambridge University in England, as well as McGill University in Montreal and the University of Washington. He has an affiliate position with the University of Paris (Nanterre), sponsoring doctoral students there.