The mission of the Washburn University Forensic Anthropology Recovery Unit (WU-FARU) is to assist local, regional, and state agencies (e.g., law enforcement, coroner/medical examiners) with active forensic casework investigations, many of which are homicides, missing persons, and cold cases in the Midwest. The WU-FARU, founded in 2017 and directed by board-certified forensic anthropologist (#123) Dr. Alexandra Klales, completes over 75 cases a year including crime scene recoveries, laboratory analyses of the biological profile to aid in positive identification, and assessment of skeletal trauma related to the cause and manner of death.
The volume and timeliness of our casework could not be accomplished without the assistance of our Washburn University forensic students, who have the opportunity to volunteer on the active forensic anthropology casework after completing their upper division coursework and case competency training. Participation in the WU-FARU cases allows our students to take their classroom training into the real-world to better prepare them for their future careers in forensics or for advanced graduate education. Our services, in turn, provide an invaluable resource to our community, partner agencies, the decedents, and their families/loved ones.
Help the WU-FARU’s mission by supporting our student volunteers! The funds raised through this program will be used as general funds for student scholarships (B.S. Anthropology- Forensics Concentration), student professional development opportunities (e.g., national conference attendance/presentation, funding research supplies, purchasing casework equipment, etc.), and paid summer employment as laboratory assistants. Did you know, Washburn is one of only two universities in the U.S. to offer an undergraduate B.S. in Forensic Anthropology program and that we are only one of five universities in the U.S. that give undergraduate students direct hands-on training with forensic casework?
To learn more about the work of the WU-FARU and see recent press releases, visit:
WU-FARU website: https://www.washburn.edu/wu-faru/
WU-FARU Facebook: @WUForensicAnthropology
