[URBANTH-L]Society Announces 2009 Bronislaw Malinowski Award

[SfAA]

For Immediate Release

April 9, 2009



Society Announces 2009 Bronislaw Malinowski Award



The Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) is pleased to announce  
that Dr. Jean (Jay) J. Schensul has been selected as the recipient of  
the Bronislaw Malinowski Award for 2009.  The Award will be formally  
presented to Dr. Schensul at the 70th Annual Meeting of the Society  
in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, in March of 2010.  At that time and as a  
part of the Award, Dr. Schensul will deliver the Annual Malinowski  
Lecture.

The Bronislaw Malinowski Award is a lifetime achievement award  
presented annually by the Society.  The Award honors the memory of an  
internationally-prominent applied anthropologist whose life was  
devoted to the goal of resolving human problems through the  
application of the social sciences.  The Award was established by the  
Society in 1973 and previous recipients have included  Gunnar Myrdal,  
Edward Spicer, Margaret Clark,  and Alexander Leighton.

Dr. Schensul manifestly fits within the company of the previous  
Malinowski Award recipients.  She served as the founding Executive  
Director of the Institute for Community Research (ICR) and retired in  
2004 to a Senior Research Scientist position after 17 years of  
exceptional achievement.  During this period, the ICR became a  
national model for applied, community-based research.  Under Dr.  
Schensul’s careful direction, the ICR has addressed fundamental  
issues such as urban public education, addiction, and the health-care  
needs of marginal populations.  Indeed, she has successfully taken  
this model for action research into diverse countries and cultures  
including Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, and China.

Dr. Schensul earned the Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the  
University of Minnesota in 1974.  Prior to her work with the  
Institute for Community Research, she was based in Chicago and  
involved in research on public education in inner cities.  She has  
held visiting faculty appointments at the University of Connecticut  
and the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a reflection of the respect of her colleagues, Dr. Schensul has  
been selected for several leadership positions in prominent  
professional associations.  She was elected President of the Society  
for Applied Anthropology in 1995 after serving on several important  
committees.  Prior to that (1982), she was elected President of the  
Council on Anthropology and Education.  More recently (2006), she was  
elected to the Long Range Planning Committee of the American  
Anthropological Association.

Please contact the Society for Applied Anthropology for additional  
information, or visit the SfAA web site (www.sfaa.net, click on  
“Awards”).