Terry Hunt is new dean of Honors College

It is my great pleasure to announce the appointment of Terry L. Hunt as Dean of the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon.  Terry comes to us from Hawaii, where he served as the

Dr. Hunt has been a member of the Department of Anthropology at University of Hawai`i-Manoa since 1988 where he was also affiliated with the Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Hawai`i, Hilo; a Master’s Degree from the University of Auckland (New Zealand); and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Washington.

Terry Hunt is an archaeologist whose research and teaching focus on historical environmental change and life on the islands of the Pacific Ocean.  He has been conducting archaeological field research in the Pacific Islands for more than 30 years, with extensive work in the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Easter Island (Rapa Nui).  Over the past 12 years Dr. Hunt has directed archaeological field research on Easter Island, where he and his students work on many aspects of the island’s prehistoric past.  His continuing research on the island addresses questions concerning the trajectory of cultural and ecological changes, including the role of the colossal statues and monuments in the ancient society.

Dr. Hunt has published numerous scholarly articles on Pacific archaeology, prehistory, ecology, and linguistics.  His work has been published in Science, Nature, American Scientist, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Archaeological Science, PLoS and Current Anthropology, among others.  He has co-edited four books, including a collection on historical ecology and ancient landscape change.

In 2008 Dr. Hunt was awarded the prestigious University of Hawai`i Board of Regents Medal for Excellence in Research in recognition of his innovative work on Easter Island. In 2005, Dr. Hunt also won the University of Hawai`i Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching.

Terry Hunt’s recent book, The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the mystery of Easter Island (Free Press, New York, 2011) co-authored with Carl Lipo, revisits the dramatic story of Easter Island’s cultural and environmental history.  Hunt and Lipo’s book won the Society for American Archaeology’s book of the year award and their research was recently featured in a Nova television special: http://video.pbs.org/video/2299677471/

As Terry joins us, I would also like to thank David Frank. As the first Dean of the Clark Honors College, David has served admirably for the past five years.  We appreciate the excellent leadership David has provided and applaud his many efforts to strengthen and expand the Robert D. Clark Honors College as it celebrates 50 years of excellence.  David will be returning to the faculty this fall, and encourages all of us to join in welcoming Terry Hunt to the College and to the University of Oregon.

Scott Coltrane

Interim Senior Vice President and Provost