Native American Studies program welcomes new faculty member

Morgantown, WV, August 31, 2006: The Native American Studies program in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at WVU is pleased to welcome a new addition to its faculty this semester.

Joe Candillo is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe of Arizona whose academic work focuses on anthropology and American Indian Studies. Candillo is teaching “Introduction to Native American Studies.” The class is one of three lower-division courses required to earn the Native American Studies minor.

Candillo, whose background includes curriculum development and implementation, will also help develop upper-division coursework that will explore various Native American traditions and beliefs in-depth.

“I’m really excited to be at WVU and to be a part of the growing momentum in the Native American Studies program,” he said. “I’m also enjoying the opportunity to help plan curriculum in a discipline that is so vital- it’s been a pleasure adapting aspects of my professional research and personal interests to the college classroom.”

Candillo earned his B.S. in Anthropology from Appalachian State University and his M.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona. He is an experienced cultural educator, having given presentations to a wide variety of academic and civic groups, as well as having constructed several American Indian exhibits for universities, museums, and an American Indian cultural center.

Bonnie M. Brown, coordinator of the NAS program, echoed Candillo’s enthusiasm. “I can’t think of anyone we’d rather welcome to our program. Joe is an instructor who’s full of energy and good ideas and he’s deeply committed to educating students about Native America. As an American Indian, he also helps fulfill a key part of our program’s mission: having students learn about Native people from Native people.”

For more information, please contact Bonnie M. Brown at BonnieM.Brown@mail.wvu.edu, or at 304-293-4626.

W-V-U