Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Five to the Florida Historical Commission
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today announced the appointment of Rick Gonzalez, Michael Francis, Kathleen Kauffman, Judith Bense and Clifford Smith to the Florida Historical Commission.
Bense, of Pensacola, is an archaeologist who sine 1980 has been at the University of West Florida, where she founded the anthropology program and now serves as President Emeritus.
She is a founding member of the Florida Historical Commission, having served six years as Chairwoman.
Bense is a member of the Florida Anthropological Society, Florida Archaeological Council, Society for Historical Archaeology and the Pensacola Downtown Rotary.
She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology and archaeology from Florida State University and a doctorate of philosophy in anthropology and archaeology from Washington State University.
