Ed Liebow ’75 has greatly influenced the field of anthropology through his work at Battelle Memorial Institute and the American Anthropological Association. Throughout his career he has promoted, advocated for, and helped others use anthropological methods to explore a wide variety of tangible problems and discover approaches to address and improve pressing societal issues.
While at the Battelle Memorial Institute, Liebow designed real-world solutions by leading diverse work teams across a wide variety of stakeholders.
His mentorship and advocacy were influential in establishing the policies and methods for assessing and addressing perceptions of risks and impacts associated with hazardous materials and facilities, especially among groups with unique cultural practices or legal standing. The teams he led worked with the U.S. Department of Energy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Indian Health Service, among others. In 2012, Liebow left this research-oriented world to apply his vision regarding anthropology’s role in problem-solving to the American Anthropological Association (AAA).
As the first and only anthropologist to serve as executive director in the AAA’s 122-year history, Liebow entered the premier organization to promote anthropology in academia and in society when there were significant challenges facing the field. He oversaw and expanded all aspects of the AAA, consisting of 23 staff professionals, 39 societies, eight committees, 24 journal publications, an annual meeting with 7,000 attendees, and many awards—all while keeping the organization financially solvent. He enhanced AAA’s Career Center to increase the pool of anthropology-trained personnel who could use ethnography to improve industry and society. He expanded AAA’s connections with other social science organizations, including history, sociology, linguistics, political science, and the Consortium of Social Science Associations, where he served as Board Chair. He spearheaded many public-facing initiatives for the AAA, including the website “Understanding RACE: Are We So Different?” and the traveling exhibition, “World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration.”
Liebow’s deep understanding of the critical theories and methods of anthropology and how they can help address intractable social issues is a thread that runs through all of his work.