Richard F. Veit, Ph.D., professor of anthropology and interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, was recently named president-elect of the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA). The SHA is a United States-based and volunteer-led organization which serves as the largest scholarly group concerned with the archaeology of the modern world (A.D. 1400-present).
Veit will succeed current president Barbara J. Heath (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), beginning his president-elect term in January 2022 and will assume presidency in January 2024 — serving a two-year term in each position.
Following his appointment, Veit is eager to broaden the society’s reach and exposure by sharing SHA’s work with the general public.
“We need to build an organization that reflects the diversity of modern America and welcomes diverse perspectives … We should go beyond studying the past to advocate for a better, more inclusive future,” Veit said in a Q&A on the SHA website.
In addition to his former presidential positions with the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference and the Archaeological Society of New Jersey, Veit also held numerous leadership roles within several regional organizations, including chair of the Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology. He is also set to serve as co-chair of the SHA’s 2022 Philadelphia Conference.
Veit is involved with multiple research projects, including archaeological investigations of Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze estate, Revolutionary War camps at Morristown National Historical Park, and the Orange Valley Estate in Jamaica.
He has also authored eight books and multiple scholarly articles; his most recent collection of work being, “Archaeologies of African American Life in the Upper Mid-Atlantic,” published by the University of Alabama Press, and co-edited with Monmouth University alumnus Michael Gall ’01 ’05M in 2017.
Veit is also a past winner of the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award.