Scott,
The reason I was disappointed was that they did not choose to hire
someone with experience in historical archaeology.  This in NO WAY
reflects on what I think of Dr. Casey.  I was very impressed with
her experience and her presentation of research.  I did not say
that she was a bad choice--only that I would have rather seen someone
hired with experience in historical archaeology.  This is because
there is a large amount of work in historical archaeology going on
in South Carolina, and I felt that someone in that field could
be an asset to the people who live and go to school in South Carolina
and, if they remain here, will probably have more job opportunities
in historical archaeology than in the archaeology of prehistoric
Africa.  I feel that a state university, especially with the only
MA program in anthropology, might do well to have a faculty which
specializes in work of local interest.  I definitely think that
Dr. Casey will be a good professor and has much to teach students.
I never meant to say otherwise.  Nor did I mean to imply that
the archaeology of prehistoric Africa is not valuable, or
something that no one in South Carolina would be interested in.
I simply meant that I believe many more people here are exposed to,
and interested in, historical archaeology.  That's my opinion,
and as always should be taken as just an opinion.
 
I am sorry if you perceived my mail to be an attack on Dr. Casey.
That was not my intention at all.  The only reason I posted her
name was that I thought people might want to know who they had
hired here.  If they had hired anyone else, I would have done the
same.  I didn't think this was unacceptable, and I apologize for
any unintended offense.
 
I will reiterate in closing that I did not mean to disparage Dr.
Casey's experience, abilities, or interests.  I am sure that she
will be an asset to the department.  I will add that I was impressed
with everything that I saw of her, and on a personal note thought that
she was very nice and friendly.  No offense whatsoever was directed
at her.
 
Kerry ([log in to unmask])