Petition for Jack Holland

To: State University of New York at Buffalo Commencement Committee

We are writing to petition for the conferral of an honorary doctorate degree in anthropology to Mr. John D. Holland of the Buffalo Museum of Science. Mr. Holland is the curator and progenitor of the Holland Lithic Laboratory. The laboratory houses a collection of lithic material of great use and importance to North American archaeologists and geologists.

Mr. Holland has studied chipped stone tools and tool production techniques for nearly 50 years. Over this time Mr. Holland has had 31 papers and reports published to his name. He has also presented at various local, regional, and national conferences about lithic tools and lithic analytical techniques. As a result of this tireless work he has received multiple awards including the 2008 Pioneers of Science award from the Haupton-Woodward Institute. He is the first with an anthropological background to receive this award. In 2001, Mr. Holland was also honored with the Crabtree Award from the Society of American Archaeology, in recognition of nationwide work as a lithic tool analyst. In addition, Mr. Holland holds special appointments at the Carnegie Museum, New York State Archaeological Association, and Buffalo Museum of Science. During his long career Mr. Holland has taught from 1988-1992 at Empire State College, a SUNY institution. Furthermore he has also mentored many undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the University at Buffalo.

We believe that Mr. Holland’s lifelong commitment to the study of lithic cultural materials merits an honorary doctorate degree in anthropology from SUNY at Buffalo. Mr. Holland’s work, specifically the Holland Lithic Laboratory, is testament to his dedication and commitment to the field of anthropology. It would be a great loss for the university not to recognize his achievements in creating a nationally recognized lithic research laboratory in Buffalo, while the university has sought to gain such recognition for its various departments.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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