The core mission of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology centers on research, education, and publications; at the present time, it ranks as one of the great institutions of its kind in the country. We cannot, however, afford to be content with being among the best. Given the generous endowment provided by Lloyd E. Cotsen, the gifts of many other benefactors, and the intellectual resources and talent it represents, there is no reason why the Cotsen Institute cannot be the premier institution of its kind in the world. My vision for the near future is to lead the Cotsen Institute to such unrivalled excellence as to be the model for archaeology in the twenty-first century .

I am committed to vigorously supporting these goals by focusing our resources and efforts into research, publications, and student training. Our Publications unit is working on several new and exciting manuscripts from both outside scholars and members of this Institute. More funds will be committed to this effort in the near future. Our faculty have returned from fieldwork around the world, including Egypt, China, Peru, Greece, Iceland, California, and Mexico. Their research is individually recognized for its quality and significance. The function of the Cotsen Institute is to promote this work and make this research widely available to scholars and the general public.

Two decades ago, the legendary Jim Hill finished a major project in the American Southwest. Jim was one of the great archaeologists of his generation. He brought a huge collection of data from his work and had planned to publish a major monograph. These artifacts, held in hundreds of boxes in the Institute labs, have not been comprehensively studied because of Professor Hill’s untimely death in 1997.

Last month, I met with Wendy Teeter, Curator of Archaeology in the Fowler Museum, and Mike Walsh, who recently received his Ph.D. from UCLA and who is working on research in California. Mike worked on the Pajarito Plateau Research Project (PARP) with Professor Hill. Mike has agreed to lead a group of volunteers from the Friends of Archaeology to finish the job Jim Hill started. Mike and his team will assemble a group of specialists familiar with the PARP. Over the next two years, they will analyze the data, write up the results, and prepare a manuscript. The manuscript will then be submitted to our Publications Unit. Professor Hill’s memory and work will be honored by having his name first on one of the volumes. A second volume will honor Professor Hill’s name with a collection of essays by specialists and former students , who will write up their analyses of his data. There is no better way to provide a tribute to Professor Hill than to make sure that his last major project will be a major contribution to the science he so loved.

The publication of the PARP data is just one of many projects we will be working on. In future issues of Backdirt, I will describe some individual projects that work toward our goals. It is vital to recognize that such an effort would not be possible without an institution like the Cotsen. The amount of labor provided by the Friends is incalculable. The expertise of Mike Walsh and his colleagues in leading this effort is indispensable. The efforts of our Publications Unit to work directly with the researchers will ensure that the final books are state-of-the art presentations of data and interpretation. The labs and other physical facilities ensure that the work can proceed efficiently and provide the optimum environment for collaboration.

I had the honor of meeting Jim Hill when I first arrived on campus four years ago. He loved archaeology and he loved science. He would be proud to see this work proceed, and he would be proud to know that his life’s research will add to the reputation of our fine Institute.