Dr. Sarah B McClure, PhD

I am an Associate Dean in Undergraduate Education, College of Letters and Sciences and a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). I have been a Research Associate at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution since 2011 and a National Geographic Explorer since 2007.

As an archaeologist I have nearly 30 years of experience studying the social and ecological impacts and legacies of early farming populations that have implications for today’s issues of the adaptability and resilience of small-scale farming and biodiversity under shifting environmental, climatic, and demographic conditions. I lead excavations and research projects in Spain and Croatia, have published 6 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals. I am currently writing two books: one on the ecological history of the Dalmatian coast of Croatia and another on the origins of agriculture worldwide.

In addition to my scientific expertise, I am an expert on various issues in higher education. Based on my experience at the University of Oregon (2004-2011), The Pennsylvania State University (2011-2019), and UC Santa Barbara (since 2019), including as an Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, I deal with questions about AI on higher education, enrollment and admissions changes at public universities, student academic experiences and challenges, and how current political policies are affecting the teaching and research landscapes in US higher education.

I hold a PhD (2004) and MA (1999) in Anthropology from UCSB, and the equivalent of a BA in Archaeology (1997) from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany.

Recently I have appeared the Croatian National News and a documentary on Spanish national television. My research has been featured internationally (CNN, USA Today, BBC, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, etc.), and I have written several opEds (Fulcrum, Public Seminar, Visible, Common Dreams).

Sub-specialties:

Archaeology
Cultural heritage
Environmental History
Animal and plant domestication
Extinctions and rewilding
Environmental conservation
Human-animal interactions
Higher Education
Foreign language instruction
University admissions
University research and policies
Undergraduate teaching
AI in higher education