Dear SCU Community, 

With a heavy heart I share the news that Professor Michelle Bezanson, Anthropology, died yesterday. We have lost a wonderful colleague and friend who supported our students and many colleagues tirelessly in her teaching and in her mentorship. We join with Michelle’s husband Hari Mix, parents Liz and Warren Bezanson, and beloved dog Walter in mourning their loss. 

A biological anthropologist with a focus on primatology, Michelle joined the Anthropology Department at SCU in 2006, was tenured in 2012, and promoted to full professor in 2020. She chaired the department from 2013 to 2020, and then served as the faculty director of the RLCs.  For many years she also  served as director of the Costa Rica summer Program. Renowned for her fieldwork, particularly in field ethics, Michelle has guided more than 100 Santa Clara students in her field research in Costa Rica. Her creative approach to communicating scientific research through her impressive artistic skills and illustrations has expanded the reach of research to broader audiences. Michelle was a consummate teacher-scholar, having received SCU’s Logothetti Teaching award for her “energetic, engaging, and effective teaching style,” the University Award for Recent Achievement in Scholarship, and was inducted into the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Michelle inspired her students in the field, in the classroom and in the residence halls, while leaving a warm and lasting imprint on her colleagues and friends. We are grateful for her wonderful life well-lived. 

Notes of condolence can be sent to Michelle’s husband, Hari Mix, care of the College of Arts & Sciences: 

Hari Mix
℅ College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

Please keep Michelle and her family in your prayers. May she rest in peace.

Peace be with you,

Julie Sullivan
President