Alex Barker, director of the Arkansas Archeological Survey, has been elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries London.
Dating back to the 18th century, the society -- which has about 3,000 members -- represents a pinnacle for the archaeology and historian professions, said University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt. "We should be proud as a system of him."
Housed with the Royal Astronomical Society, the Linnaean Society and the Royal Academy of Arts in Burlington House in London, fellows are elected in accordance with the Society's 1751 Royal Charter on the basis of "excelling in the knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other nations," according to the UA System.
Fellows must be sponsored by five or more elected Fellows (a process called "taking out a Blue Paper") and must be elected by a two-thirds majority of the existing Fellows.
"It's an honor to be included among some of the most respected people in my particular areas of study and interest," Barker said in a news release from the UA System on Friday.
"It's really more of a reflection of the good people, organizations and teams I've been associated with over the years and a comprehensive acknowledgment of the importance of collaborative work on heritage in all its forms, especially here in the UA System with the Survey."
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