Faculty

Upcoming Classes

Students and members of the public walking at the Great Circle, part  of the Newark Earthworks, Heath OH. Image courtesy of Timothy E. Black.

Picking out your classes for next semester?

Check out upcoming classes which are taught by our affiliated faculty and which connect to American Indian Studies!

"These places reflect the collective knowledge of Hopewell era peoples regarding STEAM – science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics and the ways they incorporated all of these fields into a holistic way of living and world view. "

--Director Dr. John Low [Pokagon Band of Potawatomi], Newark Earthworks Center.

Dr. John N. Low, Department of Comparative Studies | The Ohio State University.

Resources

Students studying in a group on step at The Ohio State University. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University.

Want help with research, success, health and wellness,  exploring our campuses, or campus safety?

Our Resources page connects to departments and links to get you started.

Faculty and Scholars

Professor of Architecture Beth Blostein | Knowlton School of Architecture, The Ohio State University
Professor of Architecture, Knowlton School of Architecture
The Ohio State University
Senior Lecturer Cheryl Cash, Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University.
Senior Lecturer, Comparative Studies, Religious Studies
The Ohio State University
Michael Charles speaking at the UN Climate Negotiations in Bonn, Germany, 2017. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University
Cornell Provost’s New Faculty Fellow, Visiting Assistant Professor
Cornell University
Dr. Robert Cook, Department of Anthropology | The Ohio State University
Member of the Faculty Oversight Committee
Professor of Anthropology | The Ohio State University
Dr. Virginia Cope. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University.
Associate Dean and Associate Professor of English
The Ohio State University
Dr. John Crissinger, The Ohio State University Libraries Reference and Special Collections Librarian and Adjunct Geography Lecturer | The Ohio State University.
Reference and Special Collections Librarian | The Ohio State University Libraries
Lecturer of Geography | The Ohio State University
Associate Professor of History Dr. Alcira Dueñas. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University
Faculty Oversight Committee Member of the Newark Earthworks Center
Associate Professor of History, The Ohio State University
Director of CHRR, and Professor of College of Education and Human Ecology Dr. Stephen Gavazzi.
Director of CHRR, Department of Human Sciences
Professor of College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University
Dr. Shannon Gonzales-Miller, The Ohio State University.
Lecturer of Undergraduate Education | Undergraduate Education, Administration
College of Education and Human Ecology
Dr. Niles Johnson. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University.
Associate Professor of Mathematics
The Ohio State University
View of the Octagon State Memorial behind trees with people walking away in the foreground. Image courtesy of Timothy E. Black
Affiliate Faculty
Dr. Brad Lepper Curator of Archaeology | Ohio History Connection. Image courtesy of the Ohio History Connection.
Curator of Archaeology | The Ohio History Connection
Visiting Professor of Anthropology | The Ohio State University
Dr. John N. Low, Department of Comparative Studies | The Ohio State University.
Director of the Newark Earthworks Center
Associate Professor of Comparative Studies | The Ohio State University
Teresa Lynch, School of Communications, The Ohio State University. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University
Director of Chronos Laboratory
Assistant Professor of Communications| The Ohio State University
Dr. Kenneth Madsen, Department of Geography | The Ohio State University
Member of the Faculty Oversight Committee
Associate Professor of Geography | The Ohio State University
Dr. Michael Mangus, Department of History | The Ohio State University.
Senior Lecturer of History
The Ohio State University
Dr. Daniel Rivers, Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University.
Associate Professor of History
The Ohio State University
Gray flag of The Ohio State University at Newark against green tree limbs. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University.
Adjunct Instructor of History
North Central State College
Dr. Michael (Mike) Stamatikos, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at The Ohio State University.
Associate Professor of Physics Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy | The Ohio State University
Founding Director of the SciDome| The Ohio State University at Newark and The Works; Chief Science Officer | The Works
Assistand Dean and Associate Professor of Education, Dr. Binaya Subedi in a red checked dress shirt.
Faculty Oversight Committee Member of the Newark Earthworks Center
Assistant Dean and Associate Professor of Education: Teaching and Learning | The Ohio State University
Dr. Christine Warner, Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology | The Ohio State University
Member of the Faculty Oversight Committee
Associate Professor of the Department of Teaching and Learning | The Ohio State University
Dr. Elissa Washuta | English, The Ohio State University.
Faculty Oversight Committee Member of the Newark Earthworks Center
Program Director of American Indian Studies, Assistant Professor of English | The Ohio State University
Dr. Elizabeth Weiser, Professor of English at The Ohio State University.
Faculty Oversight Committee Member of the Newark Earthworks Center
Professor of English, The Ohio State University
Dr. Anna Willow, Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University.
Professor of Anthropology
The Ohio State University

"Without collective traditional ways, the earthworks would not exist. The builders’ knowledge enfolded in the everyday and the story of the everyday was passed down generation to generation; connecting who they were to who we are becoming."

-Former Director of American Indian Studies Dr. Christine Ballengee-Morris, The Ohio State University.

Dr. Christine Ballengee-Morris placing ashes into a central fire exhibit at the Newark Earthworks Day exhibit, 2009. Image courtesy of Timothy E. Black.

Members of the American Indian Studies (AIS) Advisory Committee at Ohio State University

The American Indian Studies Program Plays Several Roles at Ohio State

We offer an interdisciplinary undergraduate Minor.
We collaborate with other university programs and departments to develop American Indian Studies programming.
We work with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Multicultural Center to promote awareness of Native issues on campus and to promote the recruitment and retention of Native students.
We work with departments to promote the hiring of faculty working in American Indian Studies fields.


  • Matthew Anderson, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Arts and Sciences
  • Marti Chaatsmith (Comanche Nation, descendant of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma), Associate Director of the Newark Earthworks Center,
  • Cheryl Cash (Choctaw/Cherokee descendant), Senior Lecturer of Comparative Studies and Religious Studies, Ohio State Newark
  • Alcira Dueñas, Associate Professor of History, Ohio State Newark
  • Madison Eagle (Tsalagi (Cherokee), Shawnee descendant), Intern-Senior Supportive Services at Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, 
  • Shannon Gonzales-Miller (Ute descendant), Director of the Scholars Program, Office of Diversity and Inclusion,
  • John Low (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi), Assistant Professor of Comparative Studies, Ohio State Newark; Tribal Representative of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi,
  • Teresa Lynch (Lakota (Cheyenne River – Mnikȟówožu)), Director of Chronos Laboratory, Assistant Professor of Communications, 
  • Lucy Murphy, Professor of History, Ohio State Newark
  • Daniel Rivers [Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma], Associate Professor of History, Program Coordinator of American Indian Studies,
  • Tim San Pedro, Associate Professor, Education and Human Ecology,
  • Elissa Washuta [Cowlitz Indian Tribe], Assistant Professor of English

"Today’s best idea for the Newark Earthworks is to achieve world wide recognition by linking our earthworks with Fort Ancient and the Hopewell Culture National Park in a World Heritage site which will be called “the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.” We will preserve our astounding earthworks, draw visitors from around the world, introduce our community to a global audience and teach the world about an astounding American Indian ancient culture that flourished here in Ohio long ago roughly 2000 years ago."

-Dr. Richard Shiels, Former Director of the Newark Earthworks Center

 "World Heritage the best future for Newark Earthworks" [external link], The Newark Advocate. January 16, 2022.

Dr. Richard Shiels, former Director of the Newark Earthworks Center, The Ohio State University.

Retired Scholars

Dr, Christine Ballengee-Morris, Department of Arts Administration, Education, and Policy | The Ohio State University
Professor Emeritus in the Arts Administration, Education and Policy Department
The Ohio State University
Dr. Melissa Beard-Jacob, American Indian/Indigenous Student Initiatives Intercultural Specialist, Office of Student Life Multicultural Center | The Ohio State University.
American Indian/Indigenous Student Initiatives Intercultural Specialist
Office of Student Life, Multicultural Center | The Ohio State University
Professor Emeritus John Hancock, University of Cincinnati.
Professor Emeritus
University of Cincinnati
Professor Brian Casey of the Department of Entomology | The Ohio State University
Professor Emeritus in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Former Faculty Director OSU InFACT | The Ohio State University
Dr. Lucy Eldersveld Murphy, Department of History | The Ohio State University
Former Member of the Faculty Oversight Committee
Professor Emeritus of History | The Ohio State University
Gray flag of The Ohio State University at Newark against green tree limbs. Image courtesy of The Ohio State University.
Associate Professor Emeritus
Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD), Department of Design | The Ohio State University
Dr. Richard Shiels, former Director of the Newark Earthworks Center, The Ohio State University.
Former Director of the Newark Earthworks Center
Associate Professor Emeritus of History | The Ohio State University
Brian Snyder | The Ohio State University
Former Executive Director of the Food and AgriCultural Transformation
Office of Academic Affairs | The Ohio State University
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