Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Fred Valdez to serve as the Director of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) for a 4.5 year term, effective January 16, 2021.  While his term begins immediately, he will continue to work with Brian Roberts to guarantee a smooth transition. Thanks to all of you in TARL, NAIS, Anthropology, and throughout the college who consulted with me on this decision.

Dr. Valdez is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology, focusing his research on Mesoamerica and the decline of complex societies, particularly the Maya and Huastec. He has held numerous leadership positions during his tenure at UT, including as Chair of the Archaeological Studies program, Director of the Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, and most recently as the Director for both the Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies and the UT-Austin Belize Archaeology Program. He is a faculty affiliate of numerous departments and centers across campus, including Native American and Indigenous Studies, the Borderlands Program, the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, the Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies, the Center for Mexican American Studies and the Mesoamerican Center.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Fred into this new role.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank Brian Roberts for his years of outstanding leadership of TARL.  Brian has continued his long tradition of stepping in to help where it is needed in the College and University and we are all grateful for his commitment and service to UT.

Warm regards,

Ann Stevens