Lisa Gezon, Ph.D., has been named the chair of the Department of Anthropology in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Lisa Gezon, Ph.D.Dr. Gezon received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Albion College and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Dr. Gezon has been a faculty member in the Anthropology Department at the University of West Georgia for 25 years and has served as chair of the department for a total of 13 years.

Dr. Gezon specializes in cultural anthropology, and her areas of research are in health and environment, with a focus on sustainability and social justice. She has done research in Madagascar, Guatemala, and the United States. Generally, she has been interested in topics related to health and wellness. Theoretically, she has written on political ecology, degrowth, and critical medical anthropology. In her current research and scholarship, she is analyzing local responses to COVID-19, and she plans to return to Madagascar to study pluralistic approaches to health.

“I am excited about joining the UAB Anthropology Department,” said Gezon. “I look forward to working with faculty and staff in order to promote professional growth and meet ever-changing student needs through innovative programming in an inclusive and collaborative environment.”

In addition to publishing numerous peer-reviewed articles and edited volumes, Dr. Gezon has published two monographs: Global Visions, Local Landscapes: A Political Ecology of Conservation, Conflict, and Control in Northern Madagascar (AltaMira Press, 2006) and Drug Effects: Khat in Biocultural and Socioeconomic Perspective (Left Coast Press, 2012). She is currently under contract to co-author a book to be called Anthropology of Drugs.

She has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship, and the National Geographic Society.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Gezon to UAB and to Birmingham,” said Kecia M. Thomas, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Lisa is an experienced and excellent leader who will support the Department of Anthropology's growth and create new collaborations and partnerships across the campus and community. We are very fortunate to have recruited her.”

“The College also appreciates Dr. Chris Kyle’s effective leadership during his extended time as interim chair of the department,” said Dean Thomas.