Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Subseries
Title
Ralph A. Luebben Professional Papers
Date(s)
- 1957- (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ralph A. Luebben, appointed in 1957, was the first Grinnell College faculty member with a doctorate in anthropology. Originally hired by the Sociology Department to creat an anthropology curriculum within its discipline, Luebben later facilitated the formation of a separate Anthropology Department and a summer archaeological field school. Luebben was the first tenured anthropologist and served as the department chair for several years during his forty years at Grinnell College.
Past Professional Memberships
Fellow, American Anthropological Association
Fellow, Society for American Archeology
Society for Applied Anthropology
Some Miscellaneous Academic Activities
1965-66 - Director, Vienna Foreign Study Program, Colorado Woman's College (3 semesters)
1967-80 - Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Grinnell College
1968-72, 1977-82 - Faculty representative for Grinnell College to the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference
1969-72 - Grinnell College Visiting Lecturer
1979-80 - American Anthropological Association Visiting Lecturer
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
4 boxes donated to the archives by Ralph A. Luebben. Luebben compiled a collection of his publications in various anthropological journals. The collection includes both individual articles and complete journals with an emphasis on American Indian, particularly Navajo, research. The collection also contains a thesis, book reviews, photographs, drawings, several unpublished papers, a timeline history of his life, and a book of essays in honor of his anthropological career.