Caroline Brettell, Ph.D.

Caroline Brettell joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University in 1988 and is currently University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. From 2012 to 2018 she served as the Founding Director of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute. She chaired the Committee to develop the vision statement for this institute, including formulating ideas for its signature programs. Caroline also worked with the Dean of Dedman College to raise the funds to support the institute and its programs.

She has held a number of other administrative roles throughout her career, including Directing the Interdisciplinary Women and Gender Studies Program (1989-1994). She served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology at SMU (1994-2004) and as Dean-ad-Interim of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences (2006-2008) at SMU. Nationally, Caroline has served as President of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe (1996-1998) and President of the Social Science History Association (2000-2001), an interdisciplinary scholarly community that brings historians and social scientists together. She has a B.A. degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. degree from Brown University. She has spent her career studying immigrant populations in Europe, Canada, and the United States (most recently in the DFW area). In addition to numerous journal articles and book chapters she is the author, co-author or editor/co-editor of 17 books. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.