The Folklore Program is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Philip Scher to the post of Divisional Dean for Social Sciences, effective July 1, 2017. Dr. Scher is the Director of the Folklore Program and has been a member of the UO Department of Anthropology faculty since 2002.  He has previously served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Anthropology.

Dr. Scher has extensive university experience, including serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council, UO Senate, Committee on Committees, College Advisor, and UO Childcare Committee.  Dr. Scher is an exemplary scholar in the field of heritage and national identity in Caribbean cultures, and has received a number of prestigious grant awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship, and a Wenner-Gren Foundation grant.

In his role as Director of the Folklore Program, Dr. Scher has increased summer online course offerings, giving students flexibility in satisfying core requirements and quadrupling the program’s operating budget.  He is committed to engaging in contemporary communities, new media and technology, and diverse communities in active and reciprocal ways.