Michael Logan conducted extensive fieldwork in Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, and India, and was widely recognized for his expertise in Plains Indian culture and art, as well as ethnobotanical and ethnomedical research. Over his career, he authored or coauthored more than 70 scholarly works, served as Editor of Reviews in Anthropology, and sat on multiple editorial boards.

A Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee from 1976 to 2014, he was deeply committed to teaching, and he mentored thousands of students in cultural anthropology. His excellence in teaching earned him numerous honors, including the National Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award (1993) and the Cunningham Award (2004). The department’s annual graduate teaching award now bears his name. He also received recognition for curating and co-curating six exhibits at the McClung Museum, primarily focused on Plains Indian art and American Indian beadwork.