Leslie Shaw, visiting assistant professor of anthropology, dies unexpectedly at 57

Obituary: Remembering first female grad Susan Jacobson ’71

Bowdoin's first female graduate, Susan Jacobson '71, died October 4 after a long battle with type 1 diabetes and its complications. Her mother, Shirley Jacobson, told the Orient that Susan Jacobson had lived with type 1 diabetes since she was 16 years old. She is survived by her mother, father, siblings and nephew.

Obituary: Remembering Leslie Shaw, professor of anthropology

Visiting Assistant Professor Leslie Shaw, who taught anthropology at the College since 1998, died unexpectedly on the evening of August 29 following complications from surgery. She was 57 years old.Shaw will be remembered for her tremendous spirit, influential work, and role as a mentor, colleague, and friend.
“Leslie quietly set a high bar for service, excellence and collegiality, qualities that we each hope to achieve with some measure of grace but which she embraced with seeming ease,” Christle Collins Judd, dean for academic affairs, wrote in an email to the Orient.
Shaw demonstrated a clear passion for her work that was evident to students and colleagues alike. Professor Susan Kaplan, chair of the sociology and anthropology departments, said Shaw brought quiet, but palpable energy to the departments.“She’d come into a room and she’d be a powerful presence,” Kaplan said. “Very quietly, not grandstanding.”

Obituary

Leslie Shaw, visiting assistant professor of anthropology, dies unexpectedly at 57

August 30, 2012

Visiting Assistant Professor Leslie Shaw, who taught anthropology at the College for fourteen years, died unexpectedly on the evening of August 29 following complications from surgery. She was 57 years old. President Barry Mills and Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd alerted the Bowdoin community of the loss in an email on Thursday morning.

Shaw arrived at Bowdoin in 1998. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maine at Orono and holds a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. During her time at Bowdoin, Shaw taught a number of courses ranging from “Indigenous Peoples of North America” to “Archeology of Gender and Ethnicity,” and most recently, “Maya Archeology and Ethnohistory.” Shaw continued to teach courses through the spring of 2012.

Shaw was a widely published archeologist whose work focused on the ancient Maya. According to her faculty research page, Shaw’s specialty in archeology led her to do research in Belize, the American northeast, the high plains of Wyoming, and on Easter Island in Polynesia. She co-directed the Maax Na Archeology Project in Belize with Eleanor King of Howard University, where they studied a two-thousand-year-old Maya site and offered field programs for Bowdoin and Howard students.

Shaw also worked closely with the Native American community in Maine. In 2008, she was named Bowdoin’s Liaison for Native American Affairs, and worked to strengthen connections between the Wabanaki community and the Bates, Bowdoin and Colby campuses.

Shaw is survived her husband, John Cross ’76, who serves as secretary of development and college relations, and by her daughters, Lauren and Audrey.

In their message to the community, Mills and Judd wrote, "As we begin Bowdoin's 211th academic year today, let us each take time to reflect on the life and accomplishments of our friend and colleague, Leslie Shaw, and offer heartfelt condolences and support to John, Lauren, and Audrey, and to everyone suffering today from this profound and unexpected loss."

Grief counseling will be made available to students through the Counseling Service, and details on a memorial service in honor of Leslie Shaw will soon be released.

Comments are permanently closed.