The mission of the Edward H. and Rosamond B. Spicer Foundation is to honor and further the legacy and life works of Edward H. and Rosamond Spicer in the fields of anthropology, community development and, social justice.

The Vision of the foundation will encourage and support research and projects based on the content and substance to be found in the Spicer Archives located in the Arizona State Museum Library Archives.

Edward H. Spicer dedicated his life as a scientist, teacher and practitioner to anthropological research on the human condition and its response to the forces (planned and unplanned) of change. Dr. Spicer was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 975. Rosamond B. Spicer as an anthropologist, contributed in many unheralded ways to support and encourage these efforts. Edward Spicer and his wife, Rosamond, worked as team, and built the legacy that is now to be found in the Spicer Archives in the Arizona State Museum Library.

Edward Spicer disseminated his findings with clarity and insight that crossed disciplinary barriers and were designed to reach a broad audience with diverse academic and professional perspectives as exemplified by his early founding role in the Society for Applied Anthropology. He displayed the courage of his conviction that anthropology could contribute to social policy through his involvement with the Community Analysis Section of the War Relocation Authority (WRA) and which he carried forward in his research and teaching in applied anthropology. 

As a teacher, Edward Spicer fostered the independence of thought among his students while holding them to high standards of performance. Throughout his life, he taught the importance of the four field unity of anthropology (ethnology, archaeology, physical/biological, and linguistics. He demonstrated a belief in the “community and its functioning” as the basic unit for observation in his academic and applied work. This is demonstrated from his beginning study of the Yaqui village of Pascua, and continued through his work as a community analyst with WRA (War Relocation Authority). He applied the insights and lessons from this experience to the seminars and workshops he taught and participated in on community development and applied anthropology at the University of Arizona.

The dominant question and theme of his research, writings, teaching and participation was on culture change, acculturation and assimilation policies. He explored the historical processes that operate at both the micro-community level and the macro-regional level to both bring about change and to resist the pressures for change. Throughout, he brought a true dynamic perspective to the structural -functional analysis of social policy and its consequences. It is this legacy that the Foundation supports and seeks to promote.

Board Members

Seth Schermerhorn, ph.d.

chair

Dr. Seth Schermerhorn is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the American Studies Program at Hamilton College in traditional Oneida territory in what is today New York State. He specializes in the interdisciplinary study of indigenous traditions, particularly in the southwestern United States. Although he has worked with several indigenous nations, he works most extensively with the Tohono O'odham Nation. He teaches classes on indigenous traditions, Native American religious freedom, indigenous ecologies, pilgrimage, global Christianities, and method and theory in the academic study of religion. He recently published his first book, Walking to Magdalena: Personhood and Place in Tohono O'odham Songs, Sticks, and Stories (co-published by the University of Nebraska Press and the American Philosophical Society).

Scott Spicer, BS, MPH

Treasurer

Grandson of Ned and Roz Spicer, Scott earned a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside and a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health from Loma Linda University. He has worked in healthcare and social services industries since 2001 in the areas of disaster preparedness, substance abuse prevention, youth development, higher education, food security, mental health, elder care and insurance. Scott has fond memories of visiting the Spicer family home in the Old Ft. Lowell Neighborhood of Tucson, seeing and hearing of the work that his grandparents did in anthropology and their local community. Only then did he learn the true impact of their work when he began conducting further research on the Spicer legacy beginning in 2009. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon where he works in the private sector healthcare industry.

F. John Meaney, Ph.D.

Secretary

F. John Meaney received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, where he concentrated in biological anthropology and had most of his training in cultural anthropology with Dr. Spicer. After teaching anthropology for several years, he completed postdoctoral training in medical genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Meaney then worked in public health and research prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona in 1995. His work over the past twenty years has concentrated on public health surveillance of genetic conditions such as muscular dystrophy and developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability. Throughout his career Dr. Meaney has applied anthropological knowledge and methods to address human and community problems in medical genetics and public health.

lawson spicer, ph.d.

board member Emeritus

 Youngest son of Ned and Roz, Lawson earned a Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Arizona and  Master’s degree from the University of Florida. Lawson enjoyed the opportunity to take anthropology classes as a student at the University of Arizona and witness some of the amazing work that Ned and Roz did towards the end of their career. He works as an independent Dairy Nutrition and Management Consultant in California, Texas and New Mexico and has over 25 years of experience in the field. He has been an enthusiastic support of the foundation and is excited about the opportunity to see it grow and flourish. 

Pat treeful, MA

board member

I have both a bachelors and Master’s degree from The University of Arizona. My undergraduate degree is in Anthropology. My interest in cultural Anthropology was inspired by the close friendship and interactions I had beginning in the early 1970’s with and from the Spicer family. My career included 24 years of service as an administrator in Special Education for the Tucson Unified School District and after as the CEO of Pantano Behavioral Health for14 years. Pantano provided behavioral health assistance to children in the Tucson community. I attribute much of my developmental interests and framework to the earlier years spent with the Spicers learning open minded, humanistic and even anthropological perspectives that shaped my future employment and focus throughout my career and life to the present.

Tim Finan, Ph.D.

Board Member

Tim Finan is now in his 36th year as a teacher and researcher in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. In the Peace Corps in Northeast Brazil he read Human Problems in Technological Change and decided to dedicate himself to the complexities of development and change. He has worked extensively in Brazil but also in 34 other countries.

Elaine drew, ph.D.

BOARD MEMBER

Dr. Elaine Drew is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. For two decades Dr. Drew has emphasized teaching and mentoring students in applied anthropology and community health development, as well as conducting culturally-based health promotion and intervention research in partnership with American Indian, Alaska Native, Latinx, and African American communities in the United States. Dr. Drew is deeply passionate about supporting research and projects that promote community health, environmental sustainability, and social justice.

jace weaver, JD, PH.D.

Board member

Dr. Jace Weaver is the Franklin Professor of Religion and Native American Studies at the University of Georgia.  He is the founding director of the Institute of Native American Studies at UGA and a founder and past president of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.  He is the author or editor of eighteen books in the field.