Dr. Charles H. Fairbanks joined the UF faculty in 1963 as chairman of the department of anthropology. After spending most of his career excavating Native American sites, Fairbanks taught at Florida State University. He was an expert in Native American and historic archeology throughout the southeast. He also excavated slave cabins on plantations and became an influential investigator of American slavery artifacts.

Born in Bainbridge, N.Y., Fairbanks earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. As the founder and past president of the Society for Historical Archeology, he was the first recipient of the society’s J.C. Herrington Award for outstanding contributions to the field in 1983. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Charles Fairbanks died in 1984 and this scholarship was established in his memor