Elizabeth S. Chilton


Elizabeth Susan Chilton is an American educator currently serving as the 21st President of the University of New Hampshire.
Prior, she was the inaugural Chancellor of Washington State University on the Pullman, Washington campus. A trained anthropologist, Chilton specializes in the pre-colonial archaeology of Northeast North America, as well as paleoecology, cultural resource management, heritage studies and materials science. She is the author of dozens of peer-reviewed book chapters and journal articles.

Education and career

Chilton is a first-generation college student. She has a B.A. from the University at Albany, SUNY. Chilton received her M.A. and her Ph.D., both in anthropology, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Following her Ph.D. Chilton held academic positions at Skidmore College and Harvard University before joining the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2001 where she was promoted to professor in 2010. In August 2012, Chilton was named associate dean for research and programs. Her final role at University of Massachusetts Amherst came as associate vice chancellor for research and engagement, before her departure for Binghamton University in 2017 where she served as the dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences
From 2011 to 2016 Chilton was co-editor of the journal Heritage & Society. From 2019 to 2021 Chilton was president of the Archaeology Division of the American Anthropological Association.
In 2020 Chilton was named provost and executive vice president of Washington State University, and in 2021 she was named the inaugural chancellor of the Pullman, Washington campus of Washington State.
In May 2024, Chilton was named as the next president of the University of New Hampshire. She began her new role on July 1, 2024.

Research

Her research interests are focused on New England archaeology and Native American Studies. While at the University of Massachusetts, Chilton founded and led the director of the Center for Heritage and Society, which established a multidisciplinary community that aimed to preserve items of cultural heritage. She has also spoken on the value of archaeological sites in the Narragansett Bay area. She has conducted field research on the island of Martha's Vineyard where she examined the past Wampanoag activities in a portion of the island.

Selected publications

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