Washington and Lee University
Under this distinctive program, University funds are available to encourage well-qualified and strongly motivated students to become familiar with research tools, techniques, and methodology. Participation is an enriching and broadening experience. It is particularly valuable to students who intend to pursue graduate work, for they are introduced to the kind of research activities they will encounter at the graduate level. Projects are chiefly of two types: assisting a professor in research or carrying out a student-planned project under the supervision of a professor. In either case, the supported work is conducted during the summer months.
Members of the Department have worked with R. E. Lee Scholars, and there could be new opportunities for such collaboration in the future. If you are interested in doing an R. E. Lee project in our department, please see a specific professor. Students are nominated in January for grants-in-aid by the professor with whom they will work the following summer. Nominees must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.50.
For more information about R. E. Lee Scholars, please see the University's webpage about this program.
Lisa Sauer (with Prof. Bell, 2003), “Life in a Company Town: Analysis of Artifacts from Community II Structure E in Longdale Mining Community, Allegheny County, Virginia.” (Best Student Paper, Archaeological Society of Virginia, 2003)
Joseph Franzen (with Prof. Galke, 2004), “Exploring Gender, Race and Socioeconomic Status Through Material Culture: An Analysis of 6 Residences at the Longdale Mining Complex.”
Jill Waity (with Prof. Galke, 2004), “Foodways and Culture: Conclusions Based on Faunal Bone Analysis at Longdale Furnace." (Best Student Paper, Archaeological Society of Virginia, 2004)
Abbie Jackson (with Prof. Galke, 2006), "History and Archaeology of Washington and Lee University: An Intersite Analysis and Exhibit Design for the Anthropology Lab."
Elisa Turner (with Prof Means, 2007), "Virtual Exploration of Archaeology on Washington and Lee’s Colonnade."
Sarah Bloom and Elizabeth Sauer (with Prof. Cintron, 2005), "Rockbridge Area Childcare Research Project."
Caroline Schierle (with Prof. Cintron, 2006), "The Sociology of Historic Preservation: Examining the Production and Consumption of British National Heritage."
Jennifer Sproul (with Prof. Cintron, 2007), "Examining Attitudes of College Students Toward Work and Family."
Some of our students have transformed their R. E. Lee projects into successful conference papers and publications.
, during the summer. This has been done under the auspices of the James G. Leyburn program, an endowed program that allows undergraduates and alumni working in anthropology to compete for stipends. Since its inception, this program has provided funding to students enabling them to conduct research or work in the field.The James G. Leyburn Scholars Program in Anthropology, established in 1979, has provided stipends to more than 150 students, allowing them to author or co-author articles in anthropology, present papers at anthropological meetings, and participate in fieldwork in archaeology, anthropology, and do cultural resource management projects.
Starting in 1989, the program has allowed students to work within National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas in the states of Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana as well as in the Lexington area. It has also supported students doing ethnographic projects in Guatemala, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
Some of our Leyburn Scholars have presented successful papers at conferences. For example, Kristen Chasse' won best undergraduate student paper at Middle Atlantic Archaeology Conference 2007 with her paper "Monongahela Mortuary Practices at the Reckner Site."
To read about our students' recent ethnographic fieldtrips with Leyburn funds, you can access the following blogs.
Stacie Gilmore in Guatemala doing research in environmental anthropology.
Chun-Yi Sum in Chicago and Hong Kong investigating Chinese Cafes and Hong Kong National Culture.
For more information on how to compete for a Leyburn stipend, please contact Professors Goluboff, Means, Galke, or Bell.
