On February 4, 1995 a internationally renowned cultural ecologist was lost. Dr. Robert Netting, a Professor at the University of Arizona with many accomplishments, died as a result of cancer. Dr. Netting was born in Racine, Wisconsin, on October 14, 1934. His accomplishments include a Bachelors Degree from Yale University in 1957, a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago in 1959, and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1963. He was a regents Professor of Anthropology since 1991, and he served as a Professor at the University of Arizona from 1972 to 1995. Dr. Netting earned international recognition in the field of cultural ecology for documenting the strategies used by residents of challenging habitats to survive. He covered this area extensively.
Dr. Netting’s works spanned over 30 years, including being a member of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. In addition, he was also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Netting was an avid lover of geography and geographers. He was involved with and studied human-environment interactions, focusing on subsistence and development issues. Dr. Netting filled the gap between geography and anthropology better than anyone else, especially from the anthropological side.
As a result of Robert Netting’s work came the “Robert McC. Netting Award" in recognition of distinguished research and professional activities that bridge geography and anthropology. The award strictly goes to a deserving candidate, whether it be annually or not. The award was made in honor of him, for his life’s work and disciplinary spirit. The Cultural Ecology Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers has established an award for a person whose professional activities best embodies those of Robert McC. Netting. The Chair of the Cultural Ecology Specialty Group presents the award at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers. It a very prestigious award and is an honor to receive.
http://www.abor.asu.edu/1_the_regents/awards_honors/reg_profs/netting.html (Mar 2000)
http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/destin/simon/cen/Netting.html (Mar 2000)
Links: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309057388/html/125.html
Written by Jason Brauer
Edited by Jared Langseth 2007