Contact: Margaret Kovar
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Award-winning survey archaeologist Michael Galaty is the new head of Mississippi State's Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures.
Before officially assuming his duties July 1, Galaty was an anthropology professor and chair of the sociology and anthropology department at Millsaps College in Jackson.
"This department at MSU is excellent, and it's unique because it's affiliated with the nationally-known Cobb Institute of Archaeology," he said of his new appointment.
Galaty holds master's and doctoral degrees in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Also an anthropology graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, he first became interested in Greece as an undergraduate and was given the opportunity to study abroad there. His current research interests include the archaeology of the Balkans, archaeological survey, ceramic petrology, and the formation of states.
Over his career, Galaty has led numerous projects, including the Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project in central Albania from 1998-2003, as well as archaeological investigations at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship in Virginia.
Currently, he is directing the Shala Valley Project, an international, interdisciplinary effort aimed at surveying a high-altitude, northern Albanian valley.
In 2010, Galaty was honored with the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award of the Archaeological Institute of America. During the 2007-08 school year, he also received Millsaps' Distinguished Professor Award.
The anthropology and Middle Eastern cultures department is part of MSU's College of Arts and Sciences.