On-campus memorial gathering planned for Professor Etkin

Nina Etkin, professor and graduate chair, passed away from cancer on January 27. She was a close friend, respected colleague and superb mentor to many in the department for nearly two decades. She will be sorely missed.

A memorial gathering will be on Monday February 9, at 4:00 pm at Queen Lilioukalani Center room 412. Parking will be available on campus. The family requests no flowers be sent, and that any donations be directed to the newly established Nina L. Etkin Memorial Fund for the support of graduate students in the UH anthropology department or to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [click here to donate now], an organization long supported by Dr. Etkin. The Nina L. Etkin Memorial Fund is established to support anthropology graduate students in Prof. Etkin's memory, continuing a legacy of support and mentoring embodied by Prof. Etkin and her unwavering commitment to generations of students at the University of Hawai'i. Click here to donate online, or checks should be made out to "UH Foundation" with "Nina Etkin Memorial" in the memo section and can be mailed to UH Foundation, P.O. Box 11270, Honolulu, HI 96828-0270.

Prof Etkin was recently named one of two recipients of the 2009 Distinguished Economic Botanist Award by the Society for Economic Botany (SEB). The SEB is the largest international scientific organization fostering and encouraging research and education on the past, present, and future uses of plants by people. Established in 1978, the Distinguished Economic Botanist Award is the Society’s highest honor, bestowed annually for outstanding education and research accomplishments. The Award will be presented posthumously on June 5 during a formal ceremony at SEB’s 50th annual meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Prof. Etkin obtained her degree in zoology from Indiana University in 1970 and her master’s degree and PhD in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the UHM faculty in 1990, she taught at the University of Minnesota for eleven years. In addition to her work as professor and graduate chair in anthropology, Prof. Etkin was also a member of the UHM graduate faculty, department of public health, and program on population studies.

She was a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and a past president and honorary board member of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology. She was awarded the prestigious Hawai`i Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research, and has attracted substantial funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, American Heart Association, Fulbright, National Geographic Society, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Social Science Research Council.

For more information on the memorial gathering, contact Marti Kerton at 956-7153 or anthprog@hawaii.edu.

page last updated April 14, 2009