Friday, February 03, 2006
Glassman to be featured on Discovery Health Channel's "Skeleton Stories"
 For the second week in a row, a film crew was on campus to document a College of Liberal Arts faculty member at work. New York City-based Atlas Media Productions was at USI January 30-February 2 to film three episodes of a new series for the Discovery Health Channel called “Skeleton Stories.” According to the Atlas Media Web site, “Skeleton Stories” “follows a team of the country’s leading forensic anthropologists as they unearth the last remains of a human being – the bones. Through these remains, experts reveal surprising details about a person’s life and death. The series mixes forensic analysis, dramatic reenactment, candid interviews and computer graphics.” The segments filmed at USI, “Homeless,” “A Minor Mistake,” and “Lady Killer,” chronicle the forensic work of David Glassman, dean of Liberal Arts, on three cases of homicide. Glassman is president of the American Board of Forensic Anthropologists and has worked more than 300 cases for federal and state agencies. He resumed his forensic work in 2004. “I took a year off from doing major forensic work so I could adapt to the environment of USI and the activities that were required of me as dean,” he said. “I handled just a very few cases last year, and now I’m beginning to continue in my research and anthropology activities at a slightly greater rate as time permits, and will be involving students in the future.” Filming took place in the anthropology laboratory located in the USI Security Building. “We had an anthropology lab for archaeological purposes, such as artifact collecting, cleaning, and curating. Now we have split the lab for the dual role of archeological activities and forensic anthropology activities.” Glassman said he reenacted the work he did on the three cases from the time the remains were brought to him, to the point at which his analysis was concluded, and through the expert testimony he gave for the court in each case. The three cases, all in Texas, were of a young child, a homeless individual, and the victim of a serial killer. On January 25, Florentine Films/Hott Productions filmed Michael Aakhus, associate dean of Liberal Arts, for a PBS documentary on John James Audubon. (For more on that story, click here.) |
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