Pamela Willoughby

Dr. Pamela Willoughby, Curator, Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection

"Dr. Willoughby's commitment [to the Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection] and other collections in the department continues to make [experiential] ways of learning possible." - Robert Losey

Dr. Pamela Willoughby has been a dedicated and passionate curator of the Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection for the last 25 years. She began her career as an academic curator in 1994 and has continued to be a tireless advocate for the UAlberta Museums network on campus.

Dr. Willoughby's achievements during her tenure have been numerous and they continue to have resounding effects within the UAlberta Museums community. When the UAlberta Museums first introduced a universal museum collection management system in the 1990s, Dr. Willoughby was a strong supporter of this initiative. She had tremendous vision in understanding the importance of standardized museum collection data for the University of Alberta and the greater community. Dr. Willoughby has been a past member of the Policy and Planning Committee, and an active member of the UAlberta Museums Curator's Committee, including serving as the committee Chair from 1997 to 2000. She has volunteered and shared her knowledge during other UAlberta Museums events including Science Sunday and tours of the museum collections in the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Willoughby also played an instrumental role in securing and providing storage and resources for several significant sub-collections within the Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection. These sub-collections have contributed to a strong experiential learning environment for students in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alberta.

The advocacy and enthusiasm that Dr. Willoughby demonstrates for the museum collection she curates, and all of the UAlberta Museums, continues to make an impact for the thousands of students that have used a museum collection within the Department of Anthropology during their degree at the University of Alberta.

Adapted from nomination and support letters by: Shirley Harpham, Archaeology Technologist / Collections Manager (Bryan/Gruhn Archaeology Collection), Pamela Mayne Correia, Faculty Service Officer, Curator of the Bryan/Gruhn Ethnographic Collection, Fossil Hominid Cast Collection, and Osteology Collection (Department of Anthropology), Robert Losey, Associate Professor, Curator of the Zooarchaeology Reference Collection (Department of Anthropology).