Career Opportunities
With a degree in Archaeology our alumni have successfully gotten jobs in the following areas:
- Archives
- Art Galleries
- Arts Management
- College & University Academics
- College Admissions
- College Student Life
- Conservation
- Cultural Resource Management
- Department of Natural Resources
- Department of Transportation
- Educational Media
- E-Resources
- Foreign Service
- GIS Data Analysis
- Historic Preservation
- Law
- Libraries
- Museum Collections
- Museum Outreach Programs
- National Guard Collections Management
- National Park Service
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Peace Corps
- Public Education
- Publishing
- State Historic Sites
- US Intelligence Services
Alumni Journeys to Success – What will yours be?
Anna Ahrens (’18): Cultural Research Management Field Technician
- Graduated with a BA in Archaeology in 2018
- Moved to New Orleans right after graduation to work part-time with the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Education Department
- After a few months found a full-time job with a Cultural Resource Management firm (R.C. Goodwin)
- Currently she is working on a large-scale survey in a Northern Louisiana forest
Kaman (Law) Hillenburg (’12): Collections Manager
- While at UE interned at the Children’s Museum of Evansville, Cultural Resource Analysts, Inc., and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
- While at UE held several part-time paid positions at the Evansville Museum
- Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology and Art History and a Business Certificate in 2012
- Hired full-time at the Evansville Museum working closely with the curatorial department assisting with care of the collections along with exhibit preparation and installation
- Founded a regional professional development organization called Southwestern Indiana Collections Connection Association (SICCA) in 2013
- For two years also worked as a contract Curator and Registrar for the Freedom Heritage Museum (currently known as Evansville Wartime Museum)
- Named the Evansville Museum’s first Collections Manager in 2016
- Currently is leading an IMLS grant-funded inventory project of over 20,000 of the museum’s historical collection and serves on the board of the Society of Indiana Archivists
Lisa Dretske (’08): Museum Manager and Staff Archaeologist
- Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology in 2008
- Earned a Master of Arts in Historical Archaeology from Illinois State University in 2013.
- Held assistantship positions in the archaeology lab for 2 years
- Worked on archaeological excavations during the summers - Cahokia Mounds, a site in Tennessee, and a job in Alaska
- Applied for many archaeology and museum jobs with little luck
- Continued to work retail at The North Face in Chicago and Milwaukee
- Offered a post-grad unpaid internship at The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
- After 6 months was offered her first museum position at Betty Brinn Children's Museum in Milwaukee as Assistant Manager of Visitor Services (part-time)
- Then offered a consultant position at the Kenosha Public Museum as their Planned Giving Coordinator and the Weekend Manager position at the Pabst Mansion in Milwaukee (part-time)
- Not long after, quit Betty Brinn since it was not in line with her future goals and continued part-time at The North Face
- Started volunteering at the Milwaukee County Historical Society on a big photography cataloging project
- This led to being offered a part-time Museum Assistant position
- Worked 4 part-time jobs, 3 in different museums for over a year
- Finally offered a full-time position as the Executive Director at the Kemper Center, Inc., a cultural center in Kenosha, WI
- Continued to take college certification courses in Fund Development and Non-profit Management
- After a year she was offered the position as Development Manager and on-staff archaeologist at the Kenosha Public Museums
Christopher Parr (’05): National Guard Archaeologist and Collections Manager
- While at UE participated in Washington University archaeological field school at Cahokia Mounds
- This led to a job as a Research Assistant for Dr. John Kelly and the Central Mississippi Valley Archaeological Research Institute
- Graduated from UE with a BA in Archaeology and History in 2005
- Married his wife Micki Blue Parr (UE Class of 2006, History)
- Earned a Master of Arts in Classics (Archaeology) from the University of Arizona in 2008
- Moved to Columbus, Georgia, and worked as a Cultural Resources Site Monitor at Fort Benning, Georgia, through a contract with Panamerican Consultants, Inc. for three years
- Designed and managed an inspection program for the Installation’s archaeological sites to ensure the military did not impact them during construction or training activities
- Participated in government-to-government consultations with federally-recognized tribes with a traditional claim to the Fort Benning area
- Along the way, was assigned responsibility for the Fort Benning Archaeology Collection.
- Moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 2011 to assume his current position: the Archaeologist and Collections Manager for the Virginia Army National Guard
- Currently administers the Virginia National Guard Curation Facility at Fort Pickett, which houses two separate collections, and coordinates government-to-government consultation efforts with state- and federally-recognized tribes
- Recently his program was recognized by National Guard Bureau and the US Department of the Army as the Top Cultural Resources Program in the “Small Installations” category
Office Phone
812-488-2165
Office Email
archaeology@evansville.edu
Office Location
Room 401, Olmsted Hall