Kevin MacDonald appointed as Director of the UCL Institute of Archaeology

Kevin MacDonald is Professor of African Archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology where he has been teaching since completing his PhD at Cambridge in 1994. He has worked in Mali for over thirty years on a variety of archaeological and historical research projects in collaboration with Malian colleagues and has has recently been elected as President of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA).

Kevin’s current research is in Senegal and in the United States, collaborating with the US National Park Service. He is also Co-Investigator on the Arcadia-funded  'Mapping Africa's Endangered Archaeological Sites and Monuments' (MAEASaM) project which aims to identify and document endangered archaeological heritage sites across Africa using a combination of remote sensing, records-based research, and selective archaeological surveys.

Kevin has indicated in his vision for the Institute:

“Our UCL Institute of Archaeology stands as a leading beacon of expertise and best practice in our field. However, it is essential that we project our varied research into social media more effectively and vibrantly. Likewise we have a long-standing relationship with rescue/ contract archaeology which is little heralded. I anticipate more visible and dynamic collaborations with our colleagues at Archaeology South-East in terms of teaching and field activities. Finally, I look forward to further expanding the diversity and global content of our teaching, while increasing our presence in British archaeology. Our involvement in UCL East, with new undergraduate teaching in Heritage, is an important way forward in this regard."

Kevin will take over from the current Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Sue Hamilton, on 1 September 2022 for a five year term.