Today's Featured Biography

 
Brian Fisk

Hi everyone! After graduating from West High, I enrolled at UNI in the fall of '74, graduating 1978 with a major in anthropology and a minor in history.

I then went on to graduate school in anthropology at the University of Florida in 1980. I received an Inter-American Foundation Fellowship to do thesis fieldwork in the Amazon region of Brazil in 1982, where I spent about 7 months studying labor turnover among migrant laborers at the Jari Project, a highly publicized (at the time) economic development project in the region. At present, I am considering taking sabbatical leave from my employer (Hillsborough Community College [HCC] in Tampa, Florida) to return to the area to conduct a "re-study," to document the changes that have occurred in the past 27 years.

I have been employed at HCC since 1987, as Manager of Special Studies (1987-90), Director of Resource Development (1990-94) and Professor of Anthropology and Political Science (1994-present). I met my wife (Karen, also an anthropologist) in graduate school at the U. of Florida. She has also been employed at HCC in various positions, and is currently the Director of Associate in Arts Programs. Since our last reunion, where many of you met her, she completed her doctorate in education at the U. of South Florida. We have no children, but have a very sweet miniature schnauzer (Tegan) who is our "baby girl." Otherwise, I consider my students to be my "children."

I am proud to have introduced the disciplines of anthropology and political science to many students that have gone on to earn B.A. and graduate degrees in those disciplines in colleges and universities across the country. Among those institutions (that I know of at least, as these students have stayed in touch with me) are the U. of South Florida, U. of Florida, U. of Central Florida, Florida International U., Stanford U., Johns Hopkins U., Penn State U., Duke U., and others. It gratifies me greatly to help some students find their career, as many of my teachers and professors helped me to do (from Kingsley Elementary, to Hoover Jr. High, to West High, to the U. of Northern Iowa, and to the U. of Florida). It also is gratifying to get the positive feedback from many of my other students, both personally and on websites, that simply appreciate what they've learned in my courses. I love what I do! - and consider myself lucky to be able to say that.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you at the 35-Year Reunion in July!

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