Dennis Michael Warren, son of Chester E. Young and Mary (Asbury) Young Warren was born Dennis Michael Young on May 7, 1942. After the death of his father in World War II, he took the name of his stepfather, Bruce Wilson Warren. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. (1964) in biology and then joined the Peace Corps to teach science in Ghana for two years. While in Ghana, he met and married his wife, Mary (Salawuh) Warren. Warren went on to earn a Ph.D. (1974) in social and cultural anthropology from Indiana University.

Warren began teaching at Iowa State University as Instructor (1972-1973) in linguistic anthropology and was promoted to Assistant Professor (1973-1976), Associate Professor (1976-1980), and Professor (1980-1997). Warren is noted for the instrumental role he played in the establishment of the interdisciplinary linguistics program at Iowa State. He was designated a University Professor (1997) in recognition of his longtime service and accomplishments.

While at Iowa State, Warren was a team leader (1982-1984) of a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project in Zambia and in Ghana. As Chair (1986-1990) of the Technology and Social Change Program, Warren created the Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD) at Iowa State University, a center focused on collecting and preserving the indigenous information and knowledge of farmers and rural people from around the world. Warren also authored numerous research papers and books, including The Cultural Dimension of Development: Indigenous Knowledge Systems (Archives call no. GN476 C85x 1995).

Warren and his wife had one daughter, Medina. Dennis Michael Warren died December 28, 1997, while traveling with his wife in Ara, Nigeria.

This collection (1978-2005, n.d.) includes a vita for Dennis Michael Warren, newspaper clippings related to his work and his death, correspondence concerning his death, a scrapbook containing photographs of Warren and his funeral in Ghana, and statements made at his funeral.

This collection is organized alphabetically.