Annual Report from Officers and Committees

Dental Anthropology Association – Annual Report from Officers and Committees

April 2020

OFFICERS REPORTS

Report from Daniel Antoine, president of Dental Anthropology Association

Due to the he COVID-19 situation, our annual meeting in Los Angeles, California, was unfortunately cancelled and the officers of the Dental Anthropology Association hope that you are all safe and well. We aim to run our social and academic events next year in Baltimore, including our annual workshop, and would like to thank those who choose to donate their 2020 workshop fee to the organization. I would also like to congratulate Emma Ayres Kozitzky on winning the Dahlberg Prize.

Over the coming year, and with the help of Dr Loren Lease, Chair of our new Outreach Committee, we aim to further promote dental anthropology, improve the resources available on our website and broaden our membership and audiences. Loren will work closely with existing Officers and Chairs to continue to support students and researchers interested in dental anthropology.

Report from Marin Pilloud, president-elect of Dental Anthropology Association

· Nothing to report

Report from Amelia Hubbard, secretary-treasurer of Dental Anthropology Association

· We became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2018 and since then have been developing more detailed and streamlined accounting, membership tracking, and communications processes.

· In 2019 we had 154 members, 17 new to the DAA

· Currently at 174 members, 11 new to DAA

· We added $5,149 in dues and donations in 2019 and spent $2,507 on 2019 DAA programming at the AAPAs, charges for maintaining our Dental Anthropology Journal space, and charges for our website and membership payment systems. We ended that year at $16,041 in our Business Checking account. Many thanks to Dr. Richard Scott for his donation of DAA pins, whose sales contributed more than $200 in donations that contribute to the Dahlberg prize!

Report from Katie Zejdlik, Executive Board Member of Dental Anthropology Association

· Due to COVID 19 the meeting and DAA workshop were canceled. It was confirmed with Lori Strong that the DAA had zero charges as a result of cancelation.

Report from Emma Lagan, Communications Officer of Dental Anthropology Association

· In the 2019-2020 year, I have had three wonderful assistants who have managed the #ToothTuesday posts on Facebook and Twitter. I want to thank them for their time. I have continued to update the website as necessary, although updates are minimal at this point. Our private Facebook group has 3,559 members. We have 785 follows on our public Facebook page. We have 958 followers on Twitter (as of 6/1/2020).

Report from Emily Moes, Student Member of Dental Anthropology Association

· Donovan Adams suggested doing an outreach activity with the hosting city of the conference. We will try again at next year’s conference and reach out to the student and general membership with some possible ideas to see about recruiting volunteers to help.

· Nothing to report regarding the luncheon or speed networking since the conference was cancelled.

Committee reports

Report from Marin Pilloud, editor of Dental Anthropology

· The new editorial board has been finalized, and Dan Temple continues to serve as the book review editor.

Editorial Board:

· Heather J.H. Edgar, Alistair R. Evans, Scott D. Haddow, Nicholas P. Herrmann, Jaime M. Ullinger, and Cathy M. Willermet

Publications:

· We are still on track to continue with two issues a year: winter and summer

· In 2019, two issues were published:

o 32 (1) – two articles

o 32 (2) – special issue on oral health with seven articles

· 2020:

o 33 (1) – three articles and a book review

o 33 (2) – on track to publish two articles and a book review in the summer volume will be published on 1 July

· Since the last meeting – we have had 17 submissions– all of which were accepted

· Working on the issue with emails going to spam – so, please check your spam

· If you are interested in serving as a reviewer for the journal, you can create an account on the website, which will make it easy for the editorial board to find you. The website is here: · http://journal.dentalanthropology.org/index.php/jda/user/register

· There are newly added guidelines for reviewers here: · http://journal.dentalanthropology.org/index.php/jda/about/reviewguide

· Also, if you have creative ideas for things to publish or ideas for review articles – let me know at mpilloud@unr.edu

Report from Cathy Willermet – chair student prize committee

2019-2020 Student Prize Committee report:

· Sadly, we had to cancel the Turner-CUP prize this cycle because the April 2020 DAA/AAPA meetings were cancelled. Travel restrictions and university closures occurring around mid-March made it difficult for students to access labs and computers, making the playing field potentially uneven for competition. The Dahlberg Prize deadline was extended to April 30 for paper submissions. We had two entries. Amy Hubbard and Chris Schmidt served as additional reviewers for the papers. The three of us unanimously voted to award the prize to Emma Ayres Kozitzky, NYU, for her paper “The Impact of hybridization on upper first molar shape in robust capuchins (Sapajus nigritus x S. libidinosus).” The announcement went out to Emma on May 25, 2020.

· I suggest that the Board consider moving future Turner/CUP prizes to virtual submissions, where the students are expected to submit a .pdf of their poster, and that is the only thing that is judged (not the student presentation at all). That would level the field in case there are future travel issues for the next few years. Just a thought. The Dahlberg Prize is unaffected by travel restrictions.

Report from James Watson, chair of workshop committee

· The workshop for 2020 “Biomolecular Approaches to Dental Anthropology” was canceled. We hope to present this same workshop next year at the 2021 annual meeting.

· If you have ideas for future workshops, please contact James Watson at watsonjt@arizona.edu

Report from Christine Lee, chair of elections committee

· The term of Amelia Hubbard as treasurer/secretary came to the end of her three-year term. Given the situation with COVID-19, it was decided to postpone the election to replace her until next year.

· As we voted on previously, her position will be turned into two separate positions: treasurer and secretary. We will hold elections for these two positions next year.

Statement from Dental Anthropology Association

The officers of the Dental Anthropology Association stand in solidarity with our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) colleagues, now and always.  We also stand with our LGBTQ+ colleagues, those who are differently abled, and others who may be targeted for their perceived differences.  We condemn the recent acts of brutality that have spurred protests worldwide.  As anthropologists, educators, and elected officials of the Dental Anthropology Association we are committed to exposing racism and all forms of discrimination in our communities, our discipline, and in this professional organization. We recognize the lack of diversity in our organization's past and seek to actively remedy that exclusivity. We pledge to listen and learn as we grow, and reflect on ourselves as an association. We will seek ways to combat racism and will encourage our membership to do the same. 

See the statement from the Dental Anthropology editor and editorial board here.

Below are links to support protesters and other institutions fighting social injustice as well as resources for additional education.    

 

Links:

Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org

Northstar Health Collective: https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/about-us-1

Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/about

Communities United Against Police Brutality: https://www.cuapb.org/

The Legal Right Center: https://www.legalrightscenter.org/about.html

Reclaim the Block: https://reclaimtheblock.org/home

MN Healing Justice Network/Spiral Collective: https://www.minnesotahealingjusticenetwork.com/

MN Youth Collective: https://www.mnyouthcollective.org/

Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/solutions#solutionsoverview

The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/

Community Justice Exchange: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/

The ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice

Free Them All for Public Health: https://freethemall4publichealth.org/

Atlanta Solidarity Fund: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-justiceforgeorgefloyd-protesters-in-atlanta

Know Your Rights Camp: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/

People’s City Council Freedom Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/peoples-city-council-ticket-fund

The Liberty Fund: https://www.libertyfund.nyc/services/

Unicorn Riot: https://unicornriot.ninja/donate/

 

Resources

Resources for Anti-Racist Action: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pEge7aLbQgtfZZ9spSfwraCMRWS7ibflRPxHvxDLHtI/edit

Medium: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234

Southern Poverty Law Center: https://www.splcenter.org/

COVID-19 and Meeting Updates (3/23)

As of March 13, 2020, the American Association of Physical Anthropologists 89th annual meeting in Los Angeles, California, has been cancelled. As an affiliate of the AAPA’s, this means that our meeting and events are subsequently cancelled. What does this mean?

  • Any social events (i.e. “Let’s Do Lunch”) are cancelled.

  • Our annual workshop is cancelled, and will be run next year in Baltimore with the same program. If you registered, you will be getting an email from our communications officer, Emma Lagan If you do not receive an email from her, please email her at: lagan.2@osu.edu. You may also choose to donate your workshop fee to the organization, or use the fee for next year’s workshop. Please be patient in receiving your refund during this time.

  • Of our student prizes, we are still accepting applications for the Dahlberg Paper Competition, with an extended deadline of April 30. Please note any submissions cannot be under contract with another academic journal, as the winner will be published in Dental Anthropology, our flagship journal. The CUP Poster Prize is cancelled for 2020. For any questions regarding these competitions please email Cathy Willermet at: wille2cm@cmich.edu

  • Our officers will post officer updates on the website as “Virtual Meeting Minutes” mid-April.

  • Elections will be held virtually for Treasurer and Secretary. Emails will go out to the members in late March or April. If you are not an active member, register here.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, you may contact our communications officer, Emma Lagan at lagan.2@osu.edu , and she will answer your question or direct you to the appropriate party.

We wish you happiness and safety during these times.

COVID-19 Updates

The Dental Anthropology Association is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and its potential impact to our upcoming plans in Los Angeles. As an affiliate of the AAPAs, we will defer to their executive board for any conference-wide decisions , and be guided by local, national and international travel and health advice; however, our executive board is currently discussing all options regarding our workshop, business meetings, and social events, including potential virtual alternatives and financial decisions. We thank you for your patience during this time, and will continue to update you as new information becomes available.

For updates regarding AAPA’s, in general, please see physanth.org.

DAA News and Updates

Dental Anthropology Association in Cleveland, Ohio

Last week was the 88th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (soon to be American Association of Biological Anthropologists, ETA 2020) in Cleveland, Ohio. Over the course of the four days (March 27-30), members of the DAA participated in a variety of events, including a large number of poster and podium presentations, our annual workshop, speed networking, happy hour, and our business meeting. Several of our events are summarized below.

Workshop

Every year, the DAA hosts a workshop related to a topic in dental anthropology. This year, the workshop concentrated on Dental Development, with guest speakers Helen Liversidge, Ph.D., and Kyra Stull, Ph.D. Dr. Liversidge explored the various methods related to aging subadult individuals, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods. Participants practiced six case studies to test their knowledge. The workshop concluded with Dr. Stull presenting her program “kidstats,” and its use of Bayesian statistics for aging estimations.

Speed Networking and Happy Hour

This year, students and professionals were able to mingle and network at our speed networking event. Based on the concept of speed-dating, this new format replaced our previous “Lets do Lunch,” giving students the opportunity to meet a variety of professionals with various specialties, as well as other students. After the formal networking concluded, the DAA hosted a happy hour to encourage more informal conversation. With over thirty participants, this event was a great success!

Passing the Gavel

At this year’s Business Meeting, Heather Edgar concluded her term as President, and passed the gavel to now-President Dr. Daniel Antoine. Dr. Marin Pilloud (co-editor of the Dental Anthropology Journal) was announced as the new President-elect. Additionally, other election winners were announced, with Emily Moes becoming the new Student Member and Emma Lagan re-elected as Communications Officer. Congratulations to all new members!

Student Prize Winners

The Dental Anthropology Association is proud to support student research through two awards: the Dahlberg Paper Competition and the CUP Poster Competition.

This year’s Dahlberg Prize winner was Anna L.M. Rautman, of the University of New Mexico, for her paper “Childhood Variation in Skeletal and Dental Development.”

This year’s three CUP Poster Competition Winners were: Luke Fannin (pictured below, left) of Dartmoth College for his poster, “Frequency of Enamel Chipping in Tai Forest Cercopithecids: Implications for Dietary Reconstruction in the Fossil Record”; Jennifer Nelson (pictured below, right) of the University of Alberta for her poster “Do Teeth Forming in Different Early Life Periods Show Differential Discrepancy with Known Age?”, and Nina Maaranen of Bournemouth University for her poster “Hyskos in Egypt—Utilizing Biodistance Methods to Interpret Archaeological adn Textural Evidence from Tell el-Dab’a” .

Congratulations to all the participants, and many thanks to our judges: Greg Nelson, Dan Temple, Richard Scott, Kathleen Paul, and Scott Burnett.

Onward!

We look forward to continuing to share Dental Anthropology news with you as the year continues. Stay tuned for new journal releases, updates to the website, and announcements for next year’s meetings!

Dental Anthropology Presentations in Cleveland

The 88th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists begins tomorrow in Cleveland, Ohio. From March 27-March 30, dozens of our members will be presenting their research through podium talks and posters. For a full list, click here.

The DAA will also be hosting several other events, including:

  • Dental Development Workshop (Wednesday, March 27, pre-registration required),

  • Student drop-in social at Cathy’s Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches (Thursday, March 28 8-10pm)

  • Speed-Networking at Barley House (Friday March 29, 4:15-5:00pm pre-registration preferred)

  • Happy Hour at Barley House (Friday March 29, 5:00-6:00pm, drop in!)

  • Business Meeting CC Ballroom A (Friday March 29, 8:30-9:30pm)

Dental Anthropology at AAPA 2019, Cleveland

Wednesday, March 27

1:00 - 5:30 pm
Dental Development Workshop
Hilton Center Street D Register Here

Dental development is critical for estimating age in juvenile skeletal remains, but both environmental and behavioral factors affect patterns of eruption across human groups. Dr. Helen Liversidge and Dr. Kyra Stull will share their diverse perspectives on methodology and practical approaches to age estimation from dental development, as well as considerations for developmental diversity over time and across our species. The workshop is intended for students and professionals of all levels.

Thursday, March 28

8:00 - 10:00 pm
Student Member Drop-In Social
Cathy's Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches Directions from Hilton

Last year, several students suggested we host an event for student members to meet and mingle casually. Stop by Cathy's Gourmet Ice Cream Sandwiches any time between 8 and 10 pm on Thursday to meet fellow student dental anthropologists. Address: 401 Euclid Ave, Cleveland OH

Friday, March 29

4:15 - 5:00 pm
Speed Networking
Barley House Directions from Hilton

Modeled after speed-dating, this event is for students, early career researchers, professors, and dental anthropology professionals who want to meet and network in a semi-structured setting. Participants will be organized into groups of 3-5, changing on an 8 minute rotation. Address: 1261 W 6th St, Cleveland OH (Preregistration Preferred)

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5:00 - 6:30 pm
Happy Hour
Barley House Directions from Hilton

Mix and mingle with dental anthropologists and dental enthusiasts. All are welcome to attend. Barley House has drink and food menus available, so come grab a snack and recharge. Address: 1261 W 6th St. Cleveland, OH

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8:30 - 9:30 pm
Business Meeting
CC Ballroom A

Annual DAA Business Meeting.

Additional Dates to Remember:

February 25th - Email your nominations for President Elect, Student Member, and Communications Officer to Dr. Christine Lee (christinelee70@gmail.com)

March 1st - Email manuscripts and faculty supervisor's letter for the Dahlberg Prize to Dr. Cathy Willermet (wille2cm@cmich.edu)

March 1st - Submit your contribution to the "What is Dental Anthropology Webpage?" using this link.

March 15th - Our annual guide to the dental presentations at the AAPA Meetings will be emailed to current members. To receive the program and have your presentation featured, make sure your 2019 Membership is active.

March 22nd - Christy G. Turner II Student Poster Competition entries due. Three $150 gift certificates to Cambridge University Press will be awarded.Apply Here.

Dental Anthropology Job Announcement

Calling all dental anthropologists hunting for a tenure track position: There is an opening at the University of Arkansas for a biological anthropologist, specifically with a dental focus. More details provided below:

http://jobs.uark.edu/postings/31353

Job opening for Biological Anthropologist

The Department of Anthropology in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas invites applications for a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor in Biological Anthropology. The anticipated start date is August 2019. Responsibilities will include directorship of the successful pre-dental advising program for the university and teaching graduate- and undergraduate-level courses, including dental science.

Candidates whose research program includes dental or craniodental studies that complement historical departmental strengths in bioarcheology and forensics as well as existing strengths in paleoanthropology and functional morphology will be given preference.

 

Completed applications received by 15 January 2019 will be assured full consideration. Late applications will be reviewed as necessary to fill the position. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

 

 

 

Posting Number

F469P

Quick Link for Posting

http://jobs.uark.edu/postings/31353

Working Title

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Department

Anthropology

 

 

Required Documents

Curriculum VitaeCover Letter/Letter of Application List of three Professional References (name, title, email address and contact number)

Optional Documents

Proof of Veterans Status

 

All application materials must be uploaded to the University of Arkansas employment system at jobs.uark.edu. Please do not send to listed recruitment contact.

Forensic Anthropology Qualification Survey

We are reaching out to you because we're interested in better understanding the state of qualifications within forensic anthropology. That is, what makes someone qualified to practice forensic anthropology?

As such, we have put together a short survey in order to collect data regarding experiences and opinions about qualification for the practice of forensic anthropology. If you have performed forensic anthropology casework or consider yourself qualified to perform forensic anthropology casework, we would really appreciate your input and participation!

It is our hope that the results of this survey will be disseminated to members of the discipline via conference presentations and research papers, and that the information obtained from this survey will ultimately assist in the development of standards for education and training in forensic anthropology.

We expect this survey to take around 15-20 minutes to complete.

We understand that everyone’s time is very valuable and that the only compensation for your participation can be our gratitude and your contribution to the advancement of the discipline. None-the-less, we humbly ask you to take a few minutes out of your busy day to fill out this questionnaire and to pass it along to anyone whom it may be applicable.

All identifying information is double-blinded by the software, and your answers will be aggregated; thus your participation is meant to be anonymous and will be kept confidential. You may choose to complete all, part, or none of this survey. You have the right to withdraw from this study at any time, for any reason, without penalty.

NOTE: No minors (individuals aged under 18 years) or any other at-risk populations are eligible to participate in this survey.

We will likely be re-sending this survey request as a reminder; please only complete this survey once.

The link to the survey is provided below:

https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0N8vlwjcgSMcX3v
By clicking the above link to the survey, you are providing your consent to be involved in this study.

If you have any questions, concerns, etc., regarding this project, feel free to contact Dr. Nicholas V. Passalacqua or Dr. Marin A. Pilloud (contact info below).

This study has been approved by the IRB offices of both Western Carolina University and University of Nevada Reno. If you have any questions or concerns about your treatment as a participant in this study, you can reach the Chair of the Western Carolina University Institutional Review Board through WCU’s Office of Research Administration at 828-227-7212.

Thanks so much for your time!
Nicholas V. Passalacqua, PhD, D-ABFA
Anthropology and Sociology Dept
Western Carolina University
nvpassalecqua@wcu.edu

Marin A. Pilloud, PhD D-ABFA
Anthropology Dept
University of Nevada-Reno
mpilloud@unr.edu

Student Prize Winners, 2018

Congratulations...

...to all of our student prize winners! Every year, the Dental Anthropology Association supports student research presented at the American Association of Physical Anthropology meetings.  Below are the winners from the two competitions: 

The Albert A. Dahlberg Paper Competition

IMG_2574.jpg

 

G.G. Turner II/Cambridge University Press (CUP) Poster Competition