School for Advanced Research

School for Advanced Research
Name	School for Advanced Research
Formation	1907
Founder	William Howard Taft, Ada Chasman, John P. Harrington
Type	Research institute
Location	Santa Fe, New Mexico
Leader title	President
Leader name	Sarah S. W. Johnson

School for Advanced Research The School for Advanced Research is a scholarly institution based in Santa Fe, New Mexico that promotes study of Native American arts, cultures, and histories through research, publications, fellowships, and public programs. Founded in the early 20th century amid renewed interest in Southwestern archaeology and anthropology, it has engaged figures from archaeology, anthropology, and art history, collaborating with museums, universities, and tribal communities. Its activities intersect with institutions such as the American Anthropological Association, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

History

The institution traces origins to the 1907 founding of the School of American Archaeology by proponents including William Howard Taft, Adolph F. Bandelier, Aleš Hrdlička, and patrons linked to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology; early leaders worked with excavators from the American Museum of Natural History and collectors tied to the Heye Foundation. During the 1920s and 1930s it hosted scholars associated with the Carnegie Institution for Science, collaborated with field projects at Pueblo sites and missions documented by Alfred V. Kidder and Neil M. Judd, and navigated debates involving figures like Franz Boas and A. L. Kroeber. Mid-century shifts in archaeological practice, including legislation such as the National Historic Preservation Act and repatriation movements culminating in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, reshaped priorities toward community-engaged research; major donors and trustees included collectors and philanthropists linked to the Rockefeller Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Rocky Mountain Southwest. Recent decades saw connections with scholars from University of New Mexico, curators from the Museum of New Mexico, and cooperative initiatives with tribal governments such as the Pueblo of Zuni.

Campus and Facilities

The campus occupies historic adobe buildings in Santa Fe Plaza vicinity and maintains facilities used by researchers, curators, and artists, some originally associated with the Palace of the Governors. Its archive and library collections complement holdings at the New Mexico History Museum, the Harvard Peabody Museum, and the Field Museum of Natural History; conservation labs adhere to standards from the American Institute for Conservation. Site spaces host visiting scholars, residency studios, and seminar rooms used by faculty from institutions including Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley.

Research and Programs

The School supports inquiry in archaeology, ethnology, arts practice, and history with projects connected to landmark fieldwork traditions pioneered by Edgar Lee Hewett, Jesse Walter Fewkes, and Frank H. H. Roberts Jr.; recent collaborations involve researchers from Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Rutgers University, and interdisciplinary teams with curators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. Programs sponsor archaeological surveys, ethnohistoric documentation, visual-arts research, and collaborative cultural stewardship responding to initiatives like the Utah Museum of Natural History repatriation efforts and tribal historic preservation offices. Grants and project partnerships have been made with the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Ford Foundation.

Education and Fellowships

The School hosts fellows, postdoctoral researchers, and artist-in-residence programs drawing applicants from institutions such as Yale University, Princeton University, Duke University, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, and international centers like University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Its fellowship roster has included scholars whose work intersects with notable figures and topics represented by awards such as the MacArthur Fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Getty Scholar Program. Educational offerings include seminars, workshops, and field schools coordinated with departments at New Mexico State University and cooperative degrees and internships involving the National Museum of the American Indian.

Collections and Publications

Collections stewardship encompasses archaeological assemblages, archival papers, and contemporary indigenous arts, maintained in dialogue with repositories like the Smithsonian Institution Anthropology Archives, the Bureau of American Ethnology records, and state museum collections at the New Mexico Museum of Art. The School publishes monographs, edited volumes, and journals; its publishing program relates to series produced by University of Arizona Press, University of New Mexico Press, Cambridge University Press, and journal exchanges with the American Antiquity editorial community and the Journal of Anthropological Research. Notable topics covered in publications engage scholarship on figures such as Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, James Mooney, and analyses linked to events like the Taos art colony and movements exemplified by Fremont culture studies.

Public Outreach and Exhibitions

Public programs include lectures, symposia, and rotating exhibitions presented in partnership with institutions such as the New Mexico History Museum, the Museum of International Folk Art, the Denver Art Museum, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Exhibitions have highlighted artists and scholars associated with the Taos Society of Artists, Ellen Neel, Gerald Nailor Sr., Maria Martinez, Pablita Velarde, and contemporary practitioners with connections to biennials like the Venice Biennale and festivals such as the Santa Fe Indian Market. Outreach emphasizes collaboration with tribal cultural departments including the Pueblo of Acoma, Navajo Nation Department of Cultural Affairs, and regional schools and colleges to support public-facing scholarship and exhibition curation.

Category:Research institutes in New Mexico Category:Organizations based in Santa Fe, New Mexico