Professor emerita Susan Niles is the only woman to have served as clerk of the faculty for Lafayette College. (Photo Courtesy of Schisler Funeral Home)
Susan Niles, a former Lafayette College anthropology professor and expert on ancient Incan culture, died on Feb. 17 of an undisclosed illness. She was 73.
Niles joined the college in 1981, and from 2008 to 2014, she served as the clerk of the faculty — the first and only woman to hold the role.
“I still remember her warm smile as she greeted colleagues at the door before faculty meetings,” Dean of Faculty Lauren Anderson wrote in an email. “Her leadership shaped not only our meetings, but our sense of community.”
An author of four books and an expert in Inca architecture and culture, Niles was a representative of the U.S. government to Peru, dealing with ways to better preserve Andean artifacts. Her work brought her and her students across the globe, returning to ancient Incan architecture and spearheading a study-abroad program in Guatemala.
In an email, anthropology professor Caroline Lee wrote that Niles “loved shepherding students on study abroad,” and highlighted Niles’ passion for student thesis and EXCEL research.
Niles spent much of her Lafayette tenure advocating for better conditions for women on campus. She joined several faculty members in penning letters to the editor in 1985 for The Lafayette.
“Lafayette is such a male institution: the pictures in the conference rooms are still all white men; sexist comments are still made about women candidates by male faculty members,” one letter reads.
Susan Basow, a psychology professor emerita, called Niles “a force of nature.”
“Sharp mind, sharp wit, sharp elbows,” wrote Basow in an email, who was another signatory to the 1985 letters.
In her time at Lafayette, Niles did everything from teaching popular courses on folklore to advising anthropology theses in archaeological histories.
“We all have certain teachers that we always are going to remember and hold everybody else up to a very high standard,” said Alisandra Carmevale ‘06, who worked with Niles on her thesis. “She’s definitely one of those for me.”
Carnevale’s thesis, “Shaping History Through Folk Narrative,” was conceived in her first year as a result of Niles’ introductory anthropology class. That next summer, Carnevale received a package containing “The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm,” alongside a note from Niles saying she thought Carnevale might find it interesting.
“I just remember being absolutely so touched,” Carnevale said. She added that she still has the collection in her bookshelf.
Niles also served as a library liaison, working with Skillman Library to fill its anthropological collection.
“I can tell the students with absolute authority if they try to bluff me and say, ‘We don’t have a book on such-and-such’ that, no, that’s not true; I know we’ve got it because I’ve ordered it,” Niles said in a 1996 interview for the library newsletter.
Outside of research pursuits, Niles also had a knack for the culinary arts, with anthropology professor emeritus Dan Bauer noting that Niles attended the Culinary Institute of America.
“She baked me an incredible chocolate raspberry torte for my 30th birthday,” Lee wrote.
Bauer visited Peru several times in his research, comparing notes with Niles during their time at the college. The pair eventually formed a strong friendship.
“There became a spot that was just Susan’s chair,” Bauer said, with Niles becoming a mainstay at Bauer-hosted meals. “Everybody knew that’s where Susan is going to sit. She’d walk in and sit there and be part of all of our discussions, no matter who it was.”
Bauer added that he and his wife would be creating an archeology scholarship with the Chijnaya Foundation, a southern Peru nonprofit, in Niles’ name. He also recounted his discovery of a brass disc in Peru, which, upon his return to the United States, Niles identified as ancient Peruvian tweezers. Bauer plans to make replica tweezers to be buried in Peru.
“My plan is to have her name on it: Susan Niles, archeologist, 1952 to infinity,” Bauer said. “So that if somebody found this thing 100 years, 200 years, 300 years from now, as an archeologist and say, ‘Oh, let me find out what that woman did.’”
Niles’ death was announced in a campus-wide email from college President Nicole Hurd. Hurd noted that plans for a memorial service will be announced through the Lafayette Today.