Anthropologists Honor UTEP’s Heyman for Body of Work
Last Updated on November 08, 2021 at 1:00 PM
Originally published November 08, 2021
By Daniel Perez
UTEP Marketing and Communications
The Society for the Anthropology of North America (SANA) announced that it awarded The University of Texas at El Paso’s Josiah Heyman, Ph.D., its 2021 Distinguished Achievement Award in the Critical Study of North America. This prize recognizes scholars with a history of research and publications.
Heyman, a professor of anthropology and an endowed professor of border trade issues, has authored more than 140 journal articles, book chapters and public essays. He has written two books and served as editor or co-editor of three others. His current research addresses migration and human rights along the U.S.-Mexico border, and water sustainability in the binational Paso del Norte region.
“I have had the great fortune to study this region, live in this community, and teach at UTEP,” said Heyman, who added that the U.S.-Mexico border is now the center of North America. “I’ve tried to give a little back.”
Denis O’Hearn, Ph.D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said he could think of no one who merited this lifetime achievement award more than Heyman. He praised the professor for his efforts to raise community-engaged teaching and research within the college.
“Joe is a complete scholar,” O’Hearn said. “His published work is top notch, but he also pays attention to the roots of social research and those roots are in the communities of our region and elsewhere. Perhaps that, more than anything, explains his loyalty to UTEP and the high esteem with which he is held by his peers.”
In her congratulatory letter to Heyman, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz, Ph.D., SANA past-president, said that the award also takes into account the recipient’s contributions in other areas such as training, instruction, and policy work outside academia.
“You have excelled in all of these areas, and we cannot think of a more deserving person for this prestigious award,” said Gomberg-Muñoz, an associate professor of anthropology from Loyola University Chicago.
The organization will honor Heyman, who also is director of UTEP’s Center for Inter-American and Border Studies as well as director of the M.A. and undergraduate minors in Latin American and Border Studies, at its virtual business meeting Nov. 9, 2021. The recognition includes a plaque and a cash prize.
