John H. Relethford is currently SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Chair in the Department of Anthropology at the State University of New York College at Oneonta. His research and teaching interests are in human population genetics, human variation, and the origin of modern humans. He was born in Bayshore, New York and grew up in Bellport, New York. He received his BA, MA, and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany. He spent a year as a post-doctoral research scientist at the Department of Genetics at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio, Texas. He has taught at SUNY-Oneonta since 1981. He is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.