Faculty and Staff

Director

Dr.Donna Birdwell has taught anthropology at Lamar University since 1984 and now holds the rank of Professor. She attended Southern Methodist University where she participated in the Superior Studies for Undergraduates Program. She graduated SMU magna cum laude in 1970 with Departmental Distinction in Political Science. After working for a few years as a journalist, Dr. Birdwell returned to SMU to pursue graduate work in Anthropology, completing the Ph.D. in 1979. Her anthropological research has focused on families, economics, and power relations and has been conducted in both Belize (Central America) and the west of Ireland. Research in Ireland was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Fulbright Fellowship. Dr. Birdwell has published numerous articles and is co-editor of House Life: Space, Place and Family in Europe (Berg: 1999). Dr. Birdwell has been Director of the Lamar University Honors Program and the Faculty Advisor to the Honors Student Association since 1999.

Assistant Director

Dr. Kevin Dodson has taught philosophy at Lamar University since 1991 and now holds the rank of Professor.  He attended the University of Washington, where he graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Philosophy and was accepted into the UW chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.  After a brief rest, Dr. Dodson went on to study philosophy at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, completing his Ph.D. in 1991.  Since then, he has served as an officer in several professional organizations.  Dr, Dodson’s scholarship has focused on the history of modern philosophy, moral and political theory, and the philosophy of history, and he has received support for his work from the German Academic Exchange Service and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  In addition to presenting papers at both national conferences and international congresses, Dr. Dodson has published numerous articles and is the editor of the Biographical Dictionary of Enlightenment and Revolution (forthcoming from Greenwood Press) and senior editor of Ways of Knowing:  Classical and Contemporary Readings in the Philosophy of Knowledge (Kendall/Hunt).  Dr. Dodson began serving as Assistant Director in 2004.

Administrative Associate Senior

Honors Program Administrative Associate Senior Kim Vizena is the mainstay of our office in 102 ROTC. Mrs. Vizena joined the Honors Program staff in June 2006.