UNLV anthropology professor John Swetnam has been selected by the university's Alumni Association as the recipient of the group's Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year Award for 1999.

Swetnam, who joined the UNLV faculty in 1973, specializes in the study of economic anthropology, Mesoamerican ethnology, applied anthropology, economic development, peasant societies, and agricultural change.

He is a past recipient of UNLV's Distinguished Teacher Award and the College of Liberal Arts' William Morris Award for Excellence in Teaching. He also served as chair of the UNLV Faculty Senate in 1993-94.

Swetnam is the author of a dozen scholarly articles and has made more than 20 conference presentations. He received his bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and his doctorate in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.

He says this recognition from the Alumni Association is as significant as any he has received in his 26 years at UNLV.

"This award means a lot to me," he said. "It comes from a community that has a permanent attachment to UNLV. I am really touched."

He will receive the award at a luncheon April 21.