TIMOTHY MURTHA

Timothy Murtha, a practicing anthropologist and design educator, joined the faculty at Charlotte as a professor of anthropology in 2023. For two decades, his research and practice have been focused on leveraging geospatial tools for anthropological and archaeological research and planning, design, and preservation at a landscape scale. Before joining the faculty at Charlotte, Murtha was jointly appointed to the College of Design, Construction, and Planning and the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, with affiliate appointments in anthropology and urban and regional planning. At UF, Murtha was recognized as a University Foundation Research Professor in 2023 and was a founding faculty member of the Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience. Before joining the University of Florida faculty, he taught at SUNY Westchester and for over a decade in the Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Penn State, where he directed the Hamer Center for Community Design. His research investigates the coupled natural human systems dynamics of settlement and land use, relying on advanced geospatial tools. He has conducted over 20 years of research in the lowlands of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, as well as in Northern Europe and North America. 

Murtha graduated from Valencia Community College with an AA in Behavioral and Social Sciences, the University of Central Florida with a BA in Anthropology before completing his MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Penn State.