Scott Hutson: 2025-26 University Research Professor Q&A

UKNow is highlighting the University of Kentucky’s 2025-26 University Research Professors. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorship program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK and is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.  

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 10, 2025) — Scott Hutson, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Anthropology in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has been honored as a 2025-26 University Research Professor.

Hutson is an archaeologist focusing on ancient Mesoamerica, which encompasses Guatemala, Belize and portions of Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras. His research investigates how cities rose and fell, how power was distributed and how belief systems shaped economic life. His methods include aerial laser scanning of ancient settlements, mapping on foot, excavation and artifact analysis.

Hutson has authored or edited 10 books and is nearing 100 peer-reviewed publications by 2026. He joined UK in 1994.

Hutson spoke with UKNow about his latest honor as a University Research Professor in this Q&A.

UKNow: What does it mean to you to be recognized as a University Research Professor?

Hutson: This honor is a testament to the support and mentorship of many colleagues in the Department of Anthropology, the College of Arts and Sciences and beyond. Meaningful research requires an entire ecosystem of encouragement. Numerous chairs, deans, associate deans, vice presidents and their staff created the conditions in which seeds of ideas can grow into full-blown projects and publications. 

UKNow: How will the professorships program advance your research?

Hutson: I recently joined a collaborative archaeology project on an ancient Maya city in Yucatan, Mexico. This professorship ensures that I will be able to continue fieldwork abroad. 

UKNow: What inspired your focus on this area of research?

Hutson: My focus on ancient urbanism grows from misconceptions about the past and from a desire to shed light on the mystery of why one particular ancient Maya city flourished while its neighbors declined. A major misconception is that powerful aristocrats inspired, directed and deserve credit for the thriving settlements whose ruins attract millions of tourists today. By locating and digging the homes of the other 99%, my colleagues and I document how the decisions of farmers, artisans, midwives and others shaped the histories in which they took part. About a thousand years ago, many Maya cities lost population. Yet a few cities endured. I join other archaeologists in investigating how trade, craft production and new forms of leadership contributed to prosperity in difficult times.

UKNow: How does your research impact Kentucky? 

Hutson: My scholarship does not boost local economies nor provide medical benefits. Yet I see scholarship as interwoven with teaching. In an increasingly global world, understanding the viability and success of cultures very different from their own helps Kentucky students think broadly and creatively about solutions to problems and how our decisions have cascading effects on our social and physical environments. Ancient Maya cities were embedded within an agrarian landscape, much like Kentucky today. Thus, lessons about environmental stability gleaned from earlier time periods can be useful in our contemporary context.

About the University Research Professors
Each year, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approves a cohort of faculty as University Research Professors. The distinction recognizes excellence in work that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in Kentucky and the world.

College leadership developed criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominated faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each University Research Professor receives a one-year award of $10,000.