ASU bioarchaeologist to be honored by Durham University

Arizona State University bioarchaeologist Jane Buikstra will be named an honorary doctor of science at Durham University this summer.

She is one of six international figures who will receive honorary degrees at a series of graduation ceremonies held July 1-4 at Durham Cathedral.

Durham vice-chancellor and warden Chris Higgins said, “All of our honorary degree recipients have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields ... They are role models for our students in terms of what can be achieved with drive, determination and skill.”

Buikstra is credited with forming the discipline of bioarchaeology, and is well-known for research spanning paleopathology, paleodemography and forensic anthropology as well. She is a Regents’ Professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and director of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research.

Her fellow honorees are professor Mosobalaji Oyawoye, the first African professor of geology; entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Young; business magnates Barbara and Tony Laithwaite; and master of the choristers and organist at Durham Cathedral James Lancelot.

All of the honorees have ties to Durham. Buikstra is a former fellow of the university’s Institute of Advanced Study.