SAR Board Member Receives Prestigious Award from AAA

The American Anthropological Association has announced that a member of the SAR board of directors, Donald Brenneis, will be awarded the Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology. Since 1976 the award has been presented annually to individuals “whose careers demonstrate extraordinary achievements that have well served the anthropological profession.” A formal presentation of the award will take place at the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in early December.

Currently a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Donald Brenneis received his undergraduate degree from Stanford and his PhD from Harvard. His field research has focused on the complexities of language, conflict, and social life

in the South Asian community in Fiji as well as on the everyday practices of the scholarly community in such areas as publishing and performance evaluation. He was editor of the American Ethnologist (1989-1994), president of the American Anthropological Association (2001-2003), and is now co-editor of the Annual Review of Anthropology. He has served as a member of the SAR board of directors since 2014.

In response to the award announcement, SAR president Michael F. Brown has commented, “Don Brenneis is one of the most respected scholars in American anthropology, known for the breadth and quality of his research, his judicious temperament, and his remarkable record of service to the profession. I can think of no more deserving recipient of the Franz Boas Award.”