Dr. Christina Turner, Anthropologist and Associate Professor of World Studies, passed away on January 13, 2008, after an intense battle with cancer.

Dr. Turner, Chris to her friends, was with VCU since 1994. During this period, she was a pillar of the Anthropology program. Dr. Turner taught a variety of courses in the ANTH major covering four-field introduction to Anthropology and upper-level courses with a focus on Latin America and research methods as well as biological and physical anthropology. She worked intensively for the creation of the School of World Studies in 2003 and was delighted to see the Anthropology program develop in this new context into an independent major. In the process, Dr. Turner fought tirelessly for the best qualities of liberal arts traditions and for always having the students, as a group and as individuals, in the center. Dr. Turner genuinely cared for her students as persons. Many students have over the years thanked Dr. Turner for her help with making them better critical thinkers and writers; and through her advising and letters of recommendation she supported many students in finding new and exciting paths for their lives and careers. One of her students wrote:

She helped make me a better person, what she did means so much to me that I find it hard to express without coming to tears.  She was what and who I needed at a very specific time in my life and knowing her made all the difference.

As Chris was genuinely engaged in her students' lives and academic progress, she was an always involved colleague. If support was needed, one could count on her to offer her time, energy and experience. Her commitment to her colleagues was demonstrated in many arenas. At VCU, she worked with the Faculty Senate and from her strong sense of what she found just, she was deeply involved with the AAUP (American Association of University Professors). Academically, she for years was a mainstay in MACLAS (The Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies) including working as the managing editor of the organization's journal. Chris for years used this signature to her emails:

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom."  Albert Einstein (AAUP member)

With her husband, Brian, Chris worked with the Peace Corps in Paraguay 1984-1986. She continued to be dedicated to the communities in which they worked and which she focused on in her dissertation research. She earned her PhD from Tulane University in 1992. Her interests materialized in extensive studies of subsistence farm communities and the socio-cultural effects of national and international development projects on the local level. In courses in Richmond and in study abroad classes in different parts of Latin America, Chris also got her students engaged in a part of the world she truly loved.

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The School of World Studies has established an academic award in Dr. Turner's name to maintain her legacy as a teacher and her focus on writing as a necessary skill in today's society. One of Dr. Turner's students commented:

I do recall Dr. Turner's commitment to making us write.  Now that I am teaching at our local college I have adopted her persistence (and hopefully her patience) with regard to writing.  I did not appreciate at the time what skill she was trying to develop in me, but when I received an award for the research and writing - specifically the writing bit - of my MA thesis I immediately thought of her and gave silent thanks for everything I remembered.  Now, every time I give the "there will be a lot of writing in this course" speech, and I think of her and how much I cringed when she gave that speech.  Then I look out, see the distraught faces, and laugh a bit.  She was a phenomenal instructor and afforded a considerable amount of patience for a stubborn student like myself. 

Contributions to the award can be made payable to the VCU Foundation, Attention Lois Badey, Director of Development, College of Humanities and Sciences, P.O. Box 842019, Richmond, VA  23284-2019.  Please note “Dr. Christina Turner Award” on the memo portion of the check.  All such donations are charitable gifts and fully tax deductible.

For further information on the fund, contact R. McKenna Brown, Director, School of World Studies, 804-827-1111, mbrown@vcu.edu or Lois Badey, Director of Development for the College, 804-827-0856, labadey@vcu.edu.