Velvet Bulldozer' retires after almost 4 decades
Mel Aikens, 66, has been a forerunner in the field
of archeology and a visionary leader at the University
BY SHELDON TRAVER
NEWS REPORTER
After spending 36 years as a pro
fessor and archeologist at the Uni
versity, the "Velvet Bulldozer” is
ready to retire.
Mel Aikens, 66, the director of the
Museum of Natural and Cultural
History, archeologist and professor
since 1969, will retire at the end of
spring term after spending decades
working with students and conduct
ing research as part of the
University’s archeology program.
Under his direction, Aikens said
nearly 40 students received their
Ph.Ds and now work around the
world in various capacities.
Friends and colleagues said he is
leaving behind a legacy at the Univer
sity and that he will be missed.
Senior Staff Archeologist Dennis
Jenkins said he came to the Universi
ty in 1985 specifically to work with
Aikens. He said he was “enthralled”
by Aikens’ work in the Great Basin
region of Utah and wanted to work
alongside him.
“There are only a few people that
stand out in their field,” Jenkins said.
He added that Aikens was very
“knowledgeable and friendly” and
that Aikens’ words of encouragement
guided him while he completed his
doctoral dissertation.
“It’s the very human part of Mel
Aikens that made me want to work
with him,” Jenkins said. “I wanted
him to be my friend and not just
my adviser. ”
Jenkins said students come to the
University expecting to be touched
by their professors. He said Aikens’
success as a professor shows in the
number of former students who
have made successful careers utiliz
ing the archaeological and anthro
pological skills they learned under
Aikens’ teaching.
“If you look around the West,
he’s got former students every
where,” Jenkins said. “His success
as a professor shows through the
success of his students.”
Denise Hockema was a student of
Aikens’ from 1993-99 and currently
works as an anthropologist for the
Coquille TUbe in Oregon.
“He’s one of the most supportive
professors I had,” Hockema said.
“Any time someone had an idea, he
tried to help them with it.”
She added he was always willing
to consider other points of view and
admit when he didn’t know
something.
“He was always willing to say, ‘I
didn’t know that. I hadn’t thought of
that,”’ Hockemasaid.
Tom Connolly, director of research
in the anthropology department, said
his personality’s effect was felt out
side the classroom as well.
“As an archeologist he was sought
out by tribes to help resolve con
flicts,” Connolly said. He said this
happened during a period of time
when disputes between American In
dians and archeologists were heated.
In 1990, the federal government
passed a law titled the Native Ameri
can Graves Protection and Repatria
tion Act that required museums or re
search facilities holding American
Indians’ remains and sacred objects
to trace the lineage of the remains
and objects and return them to the
appropriate decedents. Aikens said
many archeologists cried foul.
“When this first happened, many
archeologists thought the sky was
falling,” Aikens said. He said it was
a decision between his colleagues
and the University to make forth
right attempts to return as many of
the remains
and sacred ar
tifacts as pos
sible. Aikens
said this has
been an ongo
ing process on
which the de
partment is
still working,
and he feels it
is the morally
correct thing to do.
“For more than 100 years, scien
tists have been collecting the remains
of Native Americans as ‘scientific
specimens,’” Aikens said. “You can
imagine how you would feel if it was
your grandmother. ”
Aikens said he isn’t as interested in
the fieldwork of archeology and in
stead puts the fieldwork of others to
gether like a puzzle to find the “big
picture.” He said he enjoys the way
things interconnect and tell the story
of long-term cultural growth.
Aikens said he enjoys working
with students and teaching but ad
mits he had a hard time during large
lectures.
“I’m naturally shy, so speaking to
350 students was hard to do,” Aikens
said. “But I enjoyed telling them
what I knew.”
He said he hasn’t taught a formal
course since 2000 when he retired
under the 600-hour program. This al
lowed him to retire and receive bene
fits while still working 600 hours per
year at the University.
Patty Krier, the museum’s director
of programs, said Aikens developed a
natural rapport with each student.
“Each student he talks to, it’s like
they’re his only student,” Krier said.
“I’ve never met anybody who didn’t
like him. Never.”
Alice Aikens said even when he is
n’t working at the University, her
husband of 42 years is reading scien
tific journals and editing what he and
others have written. She said he is
very precise, always choosing his
words carefully. This precision car
ries over to other daily activities.
“Whenever he ate ice cream it
would be in increments,” she said. “A
half-inch. An inch. Even when eating
ice cream. ”
Since 2000, Aikens has served as
director at the Museum of Natural
and Cultural History, overseeing its
renovation, a project completed in
February. Connolly worked with
Aikens on the renovation and said
there were many different views of
“It’s the very human part of
Mel Aikens that made me want
to work with him. I wanted him
to be my friend and not just
my adviser. ”
Dennis Jenkins | Senior staff archeologist
how the
museum
should be
designed
from vari
ous partici
pants in the
project. He
said Aikens
used his
calm de
meanor to
bring people together. He added
that this is one part of Aikens’ per
sonality that shines through in
many circumstances.
“He’s always had the attitude that
people on polar extremes have some
element of truth in their views,” Con
nolly said. “Accentuate the positive
and find common ground.”
Krier said Aikens is leaving the Uni
versity with a vision for the future.
“He’s a tremendous visionary
leader,” she said.
Aikens said he is looking forward
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Director of Museum of Natural and Cultural History Mel Aikens talks about his time in the
field of anthropology at the University.
to retirement not as a means to stop
working but as a way to allow him
time to complete other projects he
wants to work on.
“I plan to do the best things I’ve
been doing all along without the day
to-day work,” Aikens said.
He said he plans to travel and
continue research in Korea and
Japan that he has been working into
a book highlighting the archeologi
cal similarities between early
Korean and Japanese civilizations.
He’s also working on a book about
the “Millennial History of the
Ute-Aztekans.” He would like
to spend more time with his 3-year
old granddaughter and flying
model airplanes, a hobby he
recently acquired.
Connolly said Aikens will be
missed and believes his legacy will
continue in the Northwest.
“I think we owe him a debt of
gratitude for his contribution to the
culture of the Pacific Northwest,”
Connolly said.
Aikens said he feels his name, the
“Velvet Bulldozer” is appropriate and
fun. He attributes it to the way he
spurred his students to achieve more.
“I’m always encouraging them to
go for it,” Aikens said. “It amounts to
pushing them to do more.”
Connolly said Aikens’ nickname
was used as a term of respect and
endearment.
“He doesn’t drive people,”
Connolly said. “He makes them
want to drive themselves.”
sheldontraver@dailyemerald.com
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