With infrastructure development ongoing nationwide, archaeologists are in high demand. To meet the discipline’s needs in Arizona, the AAC is working with academic institutions across the state to raise student awareness of career opportunities in cultural resource management (CRM). Through the academia-to-CRM transition program, known as the Action Program, instructors work with local CRM managers to introduce students to cultural resource management. By establishing relationships within the archaeological community, graduating archaeologists transition more cohesively into the workforce and their new careers. The program provides academia with career-driven instruction and goals, graduates with promising futures, and the cultural resource community with capable, familiar archaeologists. The Action Program team in northern Arizona consists of AAC members, local CRM archaeologists, NAU faculty, and student organizations. Each semester, the team coordinates events to expose students to various careers and specialties within CRM. In the fall semester, students are presented with an overview of the CRM industry and career opportunities within the field. In the spring semester, the presentation is expanded to include a panel of archaeologists from across the CRM spectrum. The panelists describe their professional roles and responsibilities and share their individual experiences when they entered the field and how they learned the ropes. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions throughout. The session ends with a one-on-one résumé workshop designed particularly for graduating students. Past CRM presentations have included careers in archaeobotany, lithic analysis, and advanced imaging. A two-part online grant workshop is presented across two semesters, and field trips have included a site visit to CRM roadwork in progress on the Navajo Nation. ACTion Program events typically are live streamed, recorded, and archived, providing attendees multiple viewing opportunities. Upcoming events can be found at _.

Dr. Chris Ebert explains the dynamics of the Mini Carbon Dating System (MICADAS) at the Arizona Climate and Ecosystems (ACE) Isotope Laboratory, Ecoss Department, NAU. (Photo: Kaitlyn Davis, NAU)

Within the academic community, instructors communicate with CRM colleagues to determine what skills are most valuable to employers and what qualities they prefer in new hires. Instructors can then develop appropriate curricula for the classroom. Team members help students identify their research interests and direct them to the resources needed to meet their goals. This includes finding and accessing the tools and techniques required, as well as developing professional networks of likeminded individuals for support throughout the process. As the program develops, internships with local CRM firms will be established for prospective archaeologists. They will record their experiences and (if appropriate) perform analyses, collect data, write technical reports, publish their findings in a CRM report and/or professional journal, and present their research in a public forum. Upon graduation, new archaeologists will have experience in the CRM process, have strong support networks in the community, and be ready to confidently progress in their careers.

The AAC Action Program is continually recruiting team members to share their work experiences with students, to develop collaborative opportunities for research, and to help plan field trips so that students can see CRM in action. If you are interested in participating in the program and sharing ideas, please contact AAC@azarchaeology.org (RE: Action).