When the fall 2007 semester started, there was an extra bag of bones sitting on the list of available minors – anthropology.

Anthropology can simply be defined as where humans came from and how we’ve evolved.

Dr. Jennifer Rice, who teaches the anthropology courses, has developed a popular following on campus,
even earning the nickname “Dr. Bones” or the “bone lady.” Currently the anthropology program has four classes, one lab, and a single professor.

Dr. Rice has her doctorate from Ohio State in human osteology, the study of human bones. When asked what got her into anthropology, she said, “I took an anthropology class at Southwest Texas (now Texas State), I thought, ‘Wow!’ this is science. It was history, a little bit of geology and archeology (and it) seemed appealing.”

Last semester, as part of one of her classes, Rice took her students on a bone excavation in Victoria, which had the students applying the techniques they learned to extract real human bones.
Rice is hoping for this program to grow into its own undergraduate program, saying, “the numbers have to stay up.”

In addition to this new program, the Lake now is home to the Jack and Joyce Coleman skeletal collection, which is a collection of 30 whole skeletons to be housed in Metz Hall. This collection is not only unique but will help define our campus by being the only one like it at any university in San Antonio. One of its founders, Joyce Coleman, is a two-time Lake alum.

Rice is also a forensic consultant for the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. When asked how her work is similar to the hit TV series “CSI,”she said, “They use the correct terms and concepts, but it’s completely dramatized.”