Dr. Kate Spradley is Texas State University’s first MacArthur Fellow. The honor reflects a career shaped by curiosity, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to humanitarianism. The MacArthur Foundation selected Spradley for her ongoing leadership of Operation ID, which identifies and repatriates human remains found in South Texas.
A recent conversation with Dr. Kate Spradley
Dr. Kate Spradley reflects on what the award means to her.
"This award is about the creativity involved in the research process. The creativity doesn’t come from me sitting alone in my office and being siloed. It comes from collaborating. I have the academic freedom to pursue this initiative and the research that goes along with it as I would like to. That is a wonderful feeling," she says.
Learn more about Dr. Kate Spradley and Operation Identification
I arrived at Texas State in 2008 and I was really happy to get a position here because it was a border state. I thought, ‘I really want to contribute to this in the state of Texas.’ Having the Forensic Anthropology Center, I knew, would allow me the resources to pursue this work."
Dr. Kate Spradley
Professor of Forensic Anthropology
In the company of greatness
MacArthur Fellows represent a wide range of fields across the arts, sciences, humanities, and more. They can be writers, astrophysicists, filmmakers, and scientists. Past Fellows include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Octavia E. Butler, and Cormac McCarthy, alongside Nobel Prize-winning scientists.
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TXST Office of Media Relations, 512-245-2180