RENO, NV, March 07, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Jay Fikes, Ph.D., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Fikes celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Fikes served in academia for more than three decades. In 2016, he resigned from his position as professor of social anthropology at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, after teaching classes there for more than 15 years. He now works as President and real estate investor at Soils Organic Solution, Incorporated, a Texas based corporation with real estate in three states. Prior to his work at Yeditepe, he served as the president of the Institute on Inter-Cultural Issues, from 1993 to 1998, and as a visiting Professor at San Diego State University in CA, in 1999. He also served at Marmara University in Istanbul as an instructor of research methods in the social sciences from 1985 to 1987, as an adjunct professor of anthropology at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM, in 1989, as an instructor of anthropology at the United States International University in 1985, and as an instructor of anthropology at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA from 1975 to 1976. He began his career in higher education in 1974, as a tutor for Palomar College, on the Pala Indian Reservation in CA.
In addition to his work as an educator, Dr. Fikes acted as a land use planner with the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, AZ, in 1983. He applied his expertise on Native American societies, serving as a lobbyist for the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, D.C. from 1990 to 1991. His public service began in 1975, when he organized the Fiestas Patrias for the Carlsbad, CA Bicentennial Committee in 1975.
Dr. Fikes is renowned for his research & publications on Native American religious rituals and symbolic anthropology; interpreting the ways in which key cultural symbols shape personal identity in any social context. His research inspires respect for Native Americans' nature-oriented indexes or "key symbols" such as water, deer antlers, eagle feathers and peyote, while enabling him to explain why multi-cultural modern societies like ours may have certain symbols (Koran, Bible, Torah or national flag) which unite as well as divide citizens. He hopes his research aids people in all cultures to understand that their own profound emotional attachment to specific symbols is acquired via a universal human learning process and that all key symbols may be replaced or modified as social circumstances change. Dr. Fikes is the author of "Huichol Indian Identity and Adaptation," "Step Inside the Sacred Circle," "Carlos Castaneda, Academic Opportunism and the Psychedelic Sixties," "Reuben Snake, Your Humble Serpent," "Huichol Indian Ceremonial Cycle" (a documentary film), "Huichol Mythology," "The Man Who Ate Honey" and "Unknown Huichol: Shamans & Immortals, Allies Against Chaos." He has contributed numerous articles to books and professional journals.
Dr. Fikes was honored as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in 1991, 1992, and 1995. In 1994 he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for his efforts in lobbying Congress to enact federal legislation to protect ritual peyote use for members of the Native American Church, whose religious freedom was imperiled by a landmark 1990 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Dr. Fikes celebrates 38 years of marriage with Lebriz N. Tosuner. They have one child, Leyla T. Fikes. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, yoga & films.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Jay Fikes, Ph.D., has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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