Christine Couture, Vice-President for Working Conditions and Work Environment

It was whilst studying for her Master’s in Population and Ecosystem Biology that Christine Couture discovered two newly created course modules at the University of Bordeaux I, one focusing on human evolution and the other on the anthropology of contemporary populations. Her interest in these two subjects led her to pursue further studies by enrolling on the Advanced Postgraduate Diploma (DEA) in Anthropology, followed by a PhD in Science, specialising in Anthropology. Her doctoral research focused on the comparative analysis of two distinct facial and mandibular morphologies, one being that of Neanderthals and the other belonging to Homo sapiens. The results of this comparative morphology-function analysis led to her obtaining her qualification permitting her to supervise research (HDR). 

Hired as a Temporary Teaching and Research Assistant (ATER) in 1993 within the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Bordeaux I, Christine Couture subsequently joined the team of teaching-research staff in Anthropology as a Senior Lecturer in 1994. In 2021, she was promoted to Professor at the University of Bordeaux. Since her appointment, she has been involved in teaching at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, focusing on the development of students’ knowledge and skills in palaeoanthropology, the area in which she has specialised since completing her PhD.

With an exceptional dedication to teaching, she very quickly realised that the two values most important to her were the human being and the collective. To go further in her collective duties, she became Director of the University Social Initiatives Department (SUAS) between 2012 and 2014, then Deputy Director of the PACEA Joint Research Unit (UMR) between 2016 and 2021. All these years have provided her with a wealth of experience in terms of the administrative operations of a collective, in research and the policies on which it is based, and with respect to the links between research and education.

Having benefited from this collective experience, she then went on to become head of the ARCHEO Graduate Programme in 2020. It was through this role that she gained an understanding of the College of Doctoral Schools’ objectives and the way in which it operates. This cohesive framework provided her with the tools to embark on the next phase of her career with the university, a phase that began to take shape in 2023. After nearly 29 years of service to students, three years as Head of the SUAS, six years as Deputy Head of the PACEA UMR and four years as Director of the ARCHEO Graduate Programme, she chose to focus her efforts on PhD students and was elected to the management of the Doctoral School of Sciences and Environments in 2023. 

Dates clés

1992: PhD in Anthropology, University of Bordeaux 1

1994:  Senior Lecturer in Biological Anthrpology, University of Bordeaux I

2012–2014: Head of the University Social Initiatives Department of the University of Bordeaux I

2016–2021: Deputy Head of the PACEA UMR 5199

2020–2023: ARCHEO – UBGSR 2.0 Graduate Programme Director

2021: Professor of Biological Anthropology, University of Bordeaux

2023–2026: Director of the Doctoral School of Science and Environments, University of Bordeaux

2026: Vice-President for Working Conditions and Work Environment, University of Bordeaux