Ripon anthropology major has lead to success for Frost ’89

Jeffrey Frost, Ripon College Class of 1989

Jeffrey Frost ’89 is a specialist in Central and South American archaeology. Since graduating with his major in anthropology from Ripon, Frost has conducted archaeological research in Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Mexico and throughout the Midwest and eastern United States. 

He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is currently an associate professor of anthropology and the director of the Institute for Archaeological Research at California State University, Stanislaus. He is also an associate of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. 

Previously, he taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, UW-Madison and Ripon College (fall 2003).  

Frost has worked in Costa Rica for more than 30 years. His research combines the approaches of archaeology and astronomy (archaeoastronomy) to investigate the astronomical knowledge of past cultures by examining architectural remains and the natural landscape. Frost was featured in the BBC documentary series, “Lost Kingdoms of Central America,” and he also served as an in-flight scientific consultant for NASA’s AirSAR Central America Mission. 

“I am grateful my education at Ripon College provided a strong foundation for my career,” he said. “The personalized and collaborative guidance from my professors continues to influence how I develop my courses and engage with students. Additionally, my liberal arts education emphasized cross-disciplinary thinking, which has been invaluable throughout my career, especially as I develop new research projects.”