Cliff Boyd
Professor of Anthropology
Radford University
Dr. Cliff Boyd is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and is currently Professor of Anthropology and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Forensic Science Institute at Radford University, where he has taught since 1986. RU President Penelope Kyle refers to Dr. Boyd as “an acknowledged expert in archaeology who has contributed greatly to our understanding of the Commonwealth’s early history.” He was named Professional Archaeologist of the Year by the Archeological Society of Virginia in 1998 and received the Radford University Foundation Award for Creative Scholarship in 1999. He is a recognized forensic archaeologist and serves as an adjunct member of the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Western District.
A strong emphasis in Dr. Boyd’s teaching is in the area of experiential learning—providing students with direct archaeological participation in the field, laboratory, and classroom and in his own research. He regularly engages students in intensive summer archaeological field schools across the Commonwealth and supervises their internships with federal and state agencies (e.g., U. S. Forest Service and Virginia Department of Historic Resources), providing them the opportunity to work with professional archaeologists on a variety of field and laboratory projects.
Dr. Boyd has directed over 50 archaeological research projects, resulting in almost 100 professional publications and 76 professional papers presented. He has been awarded over a half million dollars in grant funds from federal and state agencies (such as NASA and the National Park Service) to support this research.
He is a leader in promoting archaeology education and preservation of archaeological sites, serving on the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Burial Commission and the Virginia Commission on Archaeology. Dr. Boyd has conducted public archaeology projects leading to preservation of historic Saltville, Virginia, Civil War battlefield sites and the historic African-American Mountain View Cemetery in Radford, Virginia. He regularly conducts training workshops for state and regional law enforcement in Forensic Archaeology Search and Recovery.
Former student Jeff Irwin (now an archaeologist at Fort Bragg) describes Dr. Boyd as “a personal and professional treasure within the state of Virginia and throughout the southeastern United States.” Department of Sociology and Anthropology Chair Dr. Paula Brush notes: “Truly outstanding teachers reveal themselves in an untiring repetition of very small acts. Cliff Boyd is that kind of teacher. He loves to teach, he loves archaeology, and he wants students to learn.”