Welcome back Golden Eagles! A new quarter brings about new classes, students, and professors. This week, meet Dr. Elizabeth Miller, Professor of Anthropology at Cal State LA. If you’ve ever had a class with her, you’ll notice immediately that she has a love for bones, coffee, as well as a disdain for LA traffic. Her office is in the Forensic Anthropology Lab which contains partial and complete human skeletons as well as various animal bones that may or may not be going through the process of maceration (queasy stomachs beware!).
Dr. Miller attained a BS in Geology at Texas A&M University in 1985, a Masters in Anthropology at Texas A&M in 1989, and a PhD in Anthropology from Arizona State University in 1995. When asked about her hometown, Dr. Miller responded that hHer family moved around a lot during her adolescence as her father was in the army, which opened her to new experiences and provided a better understanding of different cultures. Her favorite color is purple and her Her favorite quotes are “be not simply good, be good for something” by Thoreau, and “there is no way to happiness; happiness is the way” as seen on a necklace she used to own; author unknown.
Her Campus CSULA: Do you recall what initially attracted you to the field of Anthropology? Was there one, “Ah-Ha!” moment or was it a more gradual exposure to the different areas of Anthropology that eventually sucked you in?
Miller: In the 7th grade, I took a class that was intended to be ancient history. It ended up being a class in creationism. At the time, I accepted what the teacher was saying without questions. However, over time I thought about it, and in college I took a Physical Anthropology class. I basically learned the opposite of what I learned in the creationism class and it completely changed my point of view on life. At this point, I was already far into my Geology degree, so I finished it but took as many Anthropology class as possible. Eventually I got into Paleopathology. Both my thesis and dissertation were in Paleopathology.
HC CSULA: Have you always had a passion for bones? Was there ever a different area in Anthropology that you thought you would work in?
Miller: No. I always found that when visiting a museum, I found looking at the skeletons best[the most interesting]. I have never been interested in anything that didn’t incorporate Biological (Physical) Anthropology. I started out in Bio Archaeology and eventually moved into Paleopathology.
HC CSULA: Please describe what exactly a Forensic Anthropologist is and how it is similar/different from a Physical Anthropologist.
Miller: A Forensic Anthropologist is a Physical Anthropologist. It is a specialty working with the identification of modern individuals in the context of law enforcement.
HC CSULA: Are you currently working on any research projects for the school or with your grad students?
Miller: Yes. There is a project underway looking at taphonomic changes in infant sized Suidae (pig) carcasses.
HC CSULA: Do you do work outside of campus related to the field of Forensic Anthropology?
Miller: Yes. I am the Forensic Anthropology consultant for Los Angeles County.
HC CSULA: What do you think of the show Bones?
Miller: Highly inaccurate when it comes to the science.
HC CSULA: What is your favorite bone in the human body and why?
Miller: The sphenoid; because it looks like a butterfly and it is very delicate, but it is probably one of the most essential bones in the body because it supports the entire base of the skull.
HC CSULA: Many of your undergrad and grad students notice you have a love for coffee; what is your favorite Starbucks drink?
Miller: Crème Brulee Frappuccino.
HC CSULA: What is your opinion of LA traffic and the commute to Cal State LA?
Miller: I commute from Palmdale. I have never lived in a city where traffic is so unpredictable. I say I won’t drive through rush hour because I know traffic is going to be bad. But today it took me an hour and a half to get here, and it wasn’t rush hour nor were there any wrecks. There were just a lot of people out. I was going to get a t-shirt when I first moved out here that said “I drive the 5”, but then I drove on the 405 and decide that the 5 was nothing!
HC CSULA: Do you have any pets? How many? Names?
Miller: I have 6 pets; 4 dogs and 2 snakes. A ball python whose name is Snake Plissken, and an albino king snake named Rex. I have a 3 legged Chihuahua that is 19 years old whose name is Chuy, another Chihuahua whose name is Gracie, a Pom-Chi (Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix) whose name is Joseph, and a Tibetan Spaniel whose name is Bella.
HC CSULA: Have you ever failed a class in college?
Miller: Yes, I got an F in Electrical Physics. I also had a 2.90 GPA in my undergrad.
HC CSULA: Did you ever take one of those career tests?
Miller: Yes. It was a government test for those in the military; I got access to it through my father and took it for fun. It ended up saying that I should be a Fire Spotter in a remote wilderness. Of all things!
HC CSULA: Last question – Do you think the zombie apocalypse is a legitimate possibility?
Miller: No. And if it is, we are doomed.
HC CSULA: In closing, do you have any advice that you would like to offer young women aspiring to enter the field of Anthropology?
Miller: This can apply to any field in science that young women want to pursue: Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do it, but you better have a love for it.