Professor
Dr. Hyland has had a long and successful career as a scholar-teacher and as an academic administrator. He has taught over 4,000 students and published or presented more than 100 articles, book chapters, papers, reviews, and reports. He has also overseen and managed numerous labs, chaired the Department of Biology, and served as Associate Dean of the School of Health Professions and Public Health. From 2015–19, Dr. Hyland served as Vice President for Mercyhurst North East and ran the branch campus there. In 2019, he returned to the Department of Biology and his first love, teaching anatomy.
- Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, 1997
- B.A., Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, 1984
- Human Anatomy
- Adaptation to Extreme Environments
- Prehistoric Protein Residues
- ANTH 216: Plants and People
- ANTH 240: Human Adaptation
- ANTH 357: Bioarchaeology
- BIO 120/121: Human Biology and Lab
- BIO 332: Neuroanatomy
- BIO 334/335: Human Anatomy and Lab
- BIO 532/533: Human Anatomy for Athletic Trainers and Lab
- BIO 534/535: Human Anatomy for Physician Assistant Studies and Lab
- Perishable Fiber Artifacts and Paleoindians: New Implications. North American Archaeologist 35(4):331–352 (2014).
- Perishables and Pioneer Populations in the Americas. Presented at the seminar, “Weaving Culture in British North America,” Annual Textile Seminar of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), Old Salem, North Carolina, 11–14 March 2009.
- Theories of Culture Examined Via the Medium of Art. Presented at the International Symposium on the Arts in Society, New York, New York, 23–25 February 2007.
- Textiles and Cordage. In Pavlov I – Southeast: A Window into Gravettian Lifestyles, edited by J. Svoboda, pp. 432–443. The Dolní Vestonice Studies, vol. 14, Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic (2005).
- Biomolecular Analysis of Collagenous Tissue, in Windover: Multidisciplinary Investigations of an Early Archaic Florida Cemetery(University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2002).
Though principally trained as a biological and archaeological anthropologist, Dr. Hyland’s interests are wide and varied. His most recent project took advantage of the university’s cadaver lab and involved an investigation of the anatomical variations in the architecture of the thumb. In the past, he has explored the social connections between theories of culture and artistic movements, conducted archaeological fieldwork in faraway places like Mongolia and Ukraine, analyzed the material culture and perishable industries from numerous North American archaeological sites, and developed immunological techniques for identifying historic and prehistoric protein residues.