Spring 2026 Newsletter
Lambda Alpha enters Spring 2026 with renewed energy and deep appreciation for the students, faculty, and practitioners who sustain our community and uphold our long-standing mission to recognize and reward academic excellence in anthropology.
Over the past year, membership has continued to grow with over 100 new members in Fall 2025! It is a great pleasure to welcome our newest chapters and their faculty sponsors from 2025: Dr. Magdalena Stawkowski with the University of South Carolina, Dr. James Ellison with Dickinson College, Dr. Mari Isa with Texas Tech University, and Dr. Kate Monti Barcalow with Portland State University, with UNC Chapel Hill in the works. I also extend heartfelt congratulations to our Spring 2025 award winners and their faculty mentors: Abigail Shepherd from the University of Central Florida, Madelynne Dudas from New York University, Swagata Biswas from the University at Buffalo, Rachel Smith from Washington State University, Dayanira Lopez from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Sydney Self from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Victoria Bodnar from Brigham Young University - Hawai'i. So that more students can be recognized for their achievements, our application portal for the Spring 2026 awards cycle is already open - our annual submission deadline is April 1, 2026 at 5pm Central. This semester, our order deadline for memberships and merchandise is April 30th, 2026 by 5pm Central, with our first batch of orders going out in the mail this week (Feb 23rd)!
Since serving as Executive Director, our national team has launched a new website, transitioned membership and merchandise transactions to an electronic ordering system, and expanded professional development offerings through two career workshops with Dr. Elizabeth K. Briody, whose enthusiasm for anthropological careers has been truly inspiring. Lambda Alpha is deeply grateful for Dr. Briody’s partnership and for the engagement of the many students and faculty who participated in these events. As we expand our programming, our goal is to introduce more student and faculty sponsor engagement via research presentations, book discussions, and mentor-mentee opportunities.
Warm thanks are also due to our former executive director, Professor Mark Groover, who was instrumental in facilitating this transition, and all departing council members, who retired or rotated off the council after many years of service. I am happy to see members of our support team move forward in their academic and professional journeys, and thank them for their dedicated service. A new council will be in place this semester, starting with Professor Meradeth Snow of the University of Montana, and together—with many helping hands and steady, incremental steps—we look forward to shaping an exciting future for Lambda Alpha and advancing the success of our students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ritu G. Khanduri
Executive Director
Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society
