The Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences has named Kathleen Allen, lecturer in and director of the undergraduate anthropology program in the Department of Anthropology, recipient of the 2012 Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Excellence in Advising. The award, which carries a $4,000 cash prize, honors outstanding faculty achievement in undergraduate advising and recognizes the many contributions advisors make to help students to maximize their educational experiences.
For almost 20 years, Allen’s extraordinary energy, passion, and dedication to higher education have greatly influenced the academic excellence of her students. Many students she has worked closely with have received prestigious undergraduate research awards through the University of Pittsburgh and have gone on to graduate school with funding.
With newly established advising procedures, Allen has increased significantly the number of majors, particularly in the honors program, allowing improvements and expansion in the curriculum. In addition, through her further development of the department’s advising model, undergraduates connect directly with faculty who are active in both research and teaching enabling them to structure an extensive program of course work, field schools, study aboard opportunities, internships, direct research experience, and independent study.
Allen’s commitment to undergraduate student success also is evident through her involvement as faculty advisor for the Anthropology Club; Lambda Alpha, the local chapter of the anthropology honor society; and the anthropology newsletter, Panthropology.
Allen earned her BA, MA, and PhD degrees at the University at Buffalo (the State University of New York). She has published in national peer reviewed journals and has presented more than 50 papers on her area of interest focusing on Native American tribal societies, household archaeology, gender and identity, regional settlement patterns, and contact studies exploring the interface between anthropology, history, ethnohistory, and archaeology.
The Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize for Excellence in Advising is given annually to a full-time faculty member who has served as a department advisor for at least three years at the Pittsburgh campus. For more information on the Ampco-Pittsburgh Prize, visit www.as.pitt.edu/teaching/ampco-pittsburgh-prize.