Anthropology Professor Receives First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal

Jonathan Marks, professor of anthropology, is the 2012 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal. This prestigious award, presented by First Citizens Bank and UNC Charlotte, honors faculty scholarship and intellectual inquiry.

Fellow scholars and colleagues concur that Marks’ work has made an indelible impact on the field of biological anthropology. He is widely regarded as an expert and has been an important leader, mentor and role model to colleagues and students, significantly contributing to the productivity and excellence of UNC Charlotte’s Department of Anthropology.

As an outspoken advocate on behalf of ethical issues in biological anthropology and molecular genetics, Marks has been influential in helping to keep the ethics surrounding genetic studies of minority communities at the forefront of scientific debates. He speaks to a scholarly audience beyond anthropology, as well as to the general public, about key issues, such genetic reductionism, the belief that by understanding humans at the molecular level, one will understand more about what it means to be human.

“Jon tackles, and applies a critical intelligence to, some of the most central intellectual debates of our time: about race, gender, ethnicity, difference and power. His work ‘speaks truth to power’ by clarifying and emphasizing what science tells us about the human condition, and what it does not tell us,” wrote a colleague about Marks, who has been at UNC Charlotte since 2000.

A highly regarded authority on anthropological approaches to race and human evolution and variation, Marks has helped grow the department and attract talented students to UNC Charlotte.

“Jon has earned a reputation within the department and across the University as a supportive, insatiably curious colleague,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “He is the kind of colleague who shares an article or book you’d find interesting, who gives you a thorough critique of your manuscript.”

A prolific scholar, Marks has authored or co-authored nearly 80 journal articles and five books, including the award-winning “What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People and their Genes.” His contributions have been recognized by the Biological Anthropology section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), for which he served as president from 2000-02, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Section H, among others.

Additionally, Marks was a visiting research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in 2010 and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Most recently, he was elected to serve a three-year term on the AAA executive board.

“At First Citizens Bank, we recognize that UNC Charlotte plays a unique and vital role as North Carolina’s urban research university,” said Marc Horgan, the bank’s area executive for Mecklenburg and Union counties. “We take great pride in our ongoing partnership with the University. Every day, the faculty, staff and students of UNC Charlotte make significant, lasting contributions to the civic, cultural and economic life of our state and region.”

Marks received the honor formally at a special recognition ceremony on Wednesday, April 4.

Reprinted from Campus News, April 4, 2012. Pictured are Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, Dr. Jonathan Marks and First Citizens Bank Area Executive Marc Horgan. Photo: Wade Bruton.

Other College of Liberal Arts & Sciences recipients of this honor are:

• 2011:  Dr. Roslyn A. Mickelson, Sociology
• 2010:  Dr. Lyman L. Johnson, History
• 2008:  Dr. Bruce A. Arrigo, Criminal Justice and Criminology
• 2007:  Dr. Kenneth Bost, Biology
• 2006:  Dr. Tanure Ojaide, Africana Studies
• 2005:  Dr. Mark G. Clemens, Biology
• 2003:  Dr. Murray A. Webster, Jr., Sociology and Anthropology
• 2001:  Dr. Martha A. Strawn, Art (then part of the college)
• 1999:  Dr. Donna R. Gabaccia, History
• 1998:  Dr. Daniel L. Shealy, English
• 1997:  Dr. Owen J. Furuseth, Geography and Earth Sciences
• 1994:  Dr. Saul Brenner, Political Science
• 1993:  Dr. Thomas L. Reynolds, Chemistry
• 1992:  Dr. Gerald F. Pyle, Geography and Earth Sciences
• 1991:  Dr. Judith D. Suther, Foreign Languages, and Dr. K. David Patterson, History
• 1989:  Dr. David R. Goldfield, History, and Dr. James D. Oliver, Biology
• 1988:  Dr. Paul D. Escott, History, and Dr. D. Paul Rillema, Chemistry