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Richard J. Scheuer Medal - Pierre and Patricia Bikai

     Through the last third of a century, ACOR has had many distinguished leaders but none more distinguished than the couple ASOR honors tonight: Pierre and Patricia Bikai.
     They met at the beginning of their professional archaeological careers--having been introduced by Martha Joukowsky in 1968 when Patricia and Martha were digging at Sarepta in Lebanon under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. Later Patricia joined Pierre at Tyre. After having excavated its medieval church, they got married in it! Ever since, their personal and professional careers have been mutually supportive. Both received their PhDs in Berkeley-Patricia from the GTU as an authority on Tyre, and Pierre from U.C. Berkeley, the authority on the Cedar of Lebanon. Each of them has directed excavations in six countries. In common they have worked in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and the Azores. Patricia also worked in Crete and Cyprus while Pierre worked in Iraq and Turkey. From this work have come numerous state-of-the-art publications-both journal articles and books.
     As they retire from the directorship of ACOR this coming spring after fifteen years of superb and complementary leadership, they have much to celebrate: they leave ACOR a healthy institution in terms of its academic reputation, its research facilities, and its hostel facilities--in a building that is all paid for! They have hosted around 400 ACOR fellows from many disciplines. During their tenure, they have supported over 160 archaeological field project seasons involving an estimated 5,000 persons. The Petra Papyri Project, now in its eleventh year, will ultimately result in complete publication of the archive, with four volumes thus far. When the Bikais arrived, the ACOR library had 5,000 volumes--today it is quadruple that size. They have fostered an ACOR publication program with four major volumes thus far and five books in the minor series. The "Archaeology in Jordan" newsletter has been published annually in AJA and two ACOR Newsletters have appeared every year. Furthermore, this whole publication effort has been a financial success-due primarily to "The Mosaics of Jordan," along with, of course, much help from a host of other scholars.
    Pierre and Patricia would be the first to give credit for most of this success, however, to the support of ACOR's distinguished Board of Trustees led, since 1992, by Artemis Joukowsky of Brown University. In fact it has been the latter's incomparable presidency which created a board which worked so harmoniously and effectively with the Bikais to generate the stability and strength that has made ACOR a model for other such institutions to follow. To be specific, it is this fruitful and congenial partnership between President Joukowsky and the Bikais that resulted in their mutual trust, respect, and success.
    The Bikais ability to attract grant funding is legendary. During their years at ACOR they have received over $11 million in federal grants including their largest gift: $2 million arranged by Senator Shelby from Alabama. So far ACOR has over $1 1/2 million in endowments--all of them, except one, being new with the Bikais.
    They are most proud of the fact that ACOR has been able to implement projects for Jordan, including the Great Temple of Amman, the Madaba Archaeological Park, and JADIS. ACOR has had a major impact on Petra--the Petra Church, Petra Papyri, Blue Chapel, Ridge Church, Roman Street, Petra Map, and Beidha. There have been other projects as well--the Ayyubid Tower, Darat al-Funun, and Khirbet Salameh in Amman, the Black Desert/Rajl Project and the presentation of Aqaba/Ayla. Along the way ACOR has become a noted leader in the area of conservation and presentation of sites.
    I could and should say much more but I have been restricted in my remarks to two minutes! Enough has been mentioned to see why ASOR this evening selected the Bikais for its most prestigious award-one which honors an individual (and in this case, a couple) who has provided truly outstanding, long term support and service contributions to ASOR. So Pierre and Patricia, for your efforts, come receive from Artemis Joukowsky the Richard J. Scheuer Medal.

- Lawrence Geraty

P.E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award - Roger S. Boraas

     The P. E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award honors an archaeologist who, during his/her career, has made outstanding contributions to ancient Near Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean archaeology. It gives me great pleasure to present this year's award to Roger S. Boraas for his pioneering role in the development of scientific archaeology in Jordan. The reasons for singling out Roger for this distinction include:
     His life-long dedication to the rigorous and disciplined application of sound scientific methods to archaeological field research, which ranged from Tell Balatah to Hesban and Rujm el-Malfouf. Specifically, his teaching and overseeing of the stratigraphic method of excavation at Hesban, including (1) rigorous excavation procedures, (2) meticulous and faithful recording of field data, and (3) disciplined restriction of interpretations to their logical derivation from evidence in hand. As defined in the report of the 1968 season Hesban field report, his job was defined as follows:

           "He gave instructions in methods and techniques of excavation to those who had joined the             expedition in order to obtain training in field archaeology. He also watched over all             archaeological procedures to assure that the aims of the expedition would be reached and             the best scientific methods applied." ("Heshbon 1968," AUSS VII, 2, 1969: 107)

     His legacy in the continuation of that scientific methodology in the plethora of projects begun by young scholars who graduated from his Hesban "school of stratigraphy." Young - and a few already "seasoned" - graduates who went on to start field projects of their own or participated as specialists: Ghazi Bisheh, Robin Brown, Doug Clark, Robert Coughenour, Patricia Crawford, Bert de Vries, Larry Geraty, Larry Herr, Oystein LaBianca, John Lawlor, Harold Mare, Mujahid Moheisen, S. Thomas Parker, Scott Rolston, Mahmoud Rusan, Jim Sauer, Hank Thompson, Michael Toplyn, Bastiaan Van Elderen, Don Wimmer, Udo Worchech, Fawzi Zayedine. Roger himself adapted his field manual to the work at Khirbet Iskender, Jordan, where he served as project stratigrapher for Suzanne Richard in the '82 and '84 seasons.
     His influence on archaeology in general: Roger was a pioneer in the transition from the Old Archaeology of the thirties-sixties to the New Archaeology of the seventies-nineties, and his influence has continued to provide methodological substance to keep the more recent flights of archaeological fancy anchored to the evidence on/in the ground.
     His influence on me: I personally appreciate Roger Boraas for his broad-based humanism; he could apply his critical wit with equal ease to the analysis of a confounding soil-layer and to a subtle sub-theme in a Pinter play. The combination of broad humanism and scientific rigor kept him and the many of us influenced by him focused on the task we assign ourselves: The search for understanding how and why our fellow humans lived, done by careful examination of the material evidence testifying to that. This came clear to all who associated with Roger on the massive seasons at Hesban, but to me especially during the idyllic summer of 1969 when Roger directed a small group -including his wife Aina -of faculty students to analyze a single structure: Rujm el-Malfouf. That's what sealed our friendship, and triggered my admiration - reflected in this award!

- Bert de Vries

G. Ernest Wright Publication Award - Burton MacDonald

     The G. Ernest Wright award is given to the editor or author of an important, substantial volume dealing with archaeological material, excavation reports, and material culture from the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean. This year the award celebrates a volume which is actually only the most recent in a line of significant field research and prompt publication. In many ways it represents the apex of a long history of North American research into the settlement patterns of antiquity in Jordan. When we speak of survey in Jordan, we must begin with Glueck, of course. After him, many others carried on the tradition, covering smaller areas in ever increasing detail and scientific innovation. The volume we are honoring offers the results of the author's third survey project in Jordan. It combined random and judgment sampling techniques, used GPS, rigorously canvassed locals for local names of sites, and in this publication, presented architectural drawings, pottery and flint plates, and photos together with the site data and prose description so that researchers can see at a glance the discovered data of each site. The volume is, of course, The Tafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey 1999-2001, West-Central Jordan, whose editor and primary author was the director of the project, Prof. Burton MacDonald.

- Larry Herr

Frank Moore Cross Publication Award - Mark Smith

     By definition, ASOR bestows the Frank Moore Cross award on the author or editor of the most substantial volume or volumes related to Near Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean epigraphy, texts, and/or traditions.
     This year's recipient is noted for his erudition, humor and insight. Yet, like his famous subject, he has kept himself somewhat shrouded: I don't know where he came from or why. Despite this conspicuous lack of an early history, certain details of his career are clear. Encyclopedic in his research, our awardee brought a mastery of Ugaritic and Hebrew grammar and Biblical and Ugaritic exegesis to bear on the issue of Israelite religion. He has assessed how the biblical record redefines and remembers traditions once a lively part of Israelite consciousness. He has employed developments in Israelite familial structure and political history as guideposts for understanding developments in Israel's ideological/theological structures. He has presented the "history" of God as a history of the presentation of God by Israel to itself, recreating for today's reader a theory of the development of Israel's concept of its God and of itself.
      In his youth our recipient expressed an interest in archaeology. But that was just a sham; he only wanted to find an ezer c'negdo. That accomplished at a Beersheba bistro, he settled upon his career among the gods, as the diarist of their lives and loves, their antics and activities.
      His involvement with Ba'al and other divinities, their disputations and conflicts has secured his place among those banqueting at the Ugaritic table. His charting the developmental course of Israelite monotheism with The Early History of God, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism, and the Memoirs of God has earned Mark S. Smith well deserved praise and, tonight, the 2005 Frank Moore Cross Award.

- Barry Gittlen

Charles U. Harris Award - David Rosenstein

     The Charles U. Harris Award is given in recognition of long-term and/or special service by an ASOR officer or Trustee.
      In the case of the Charles Harris Award recipient for 2005, it is not so much "long-term" as it is "special" service, which provides the rationale for recognition. It salutes an individual who, as far as I can determine, over the past couple of years has given as large or larger a combined contribution of time, energy, soul and monetary support to ASOR than anyone else. A person who has put on hold other projects to direct a new initiative in ASOR which carries promise beyond anything done or perhaps even imagined in the past. A person who has tossed caution to the wind and with abandon thrown himself headlong, along with a clutch of consultants and several staff members and Trustees, into the creation of a development program for ASOR which carries significant potential for the future.
      Placing this endeavor ahead of a large business enterprise consisting of 19 stores in the Washington, D.C. area as well as a dissertation on the axial age of the ancient Near East awaiting attention at the Johns Hopkins University, our awardee decided two years ago that ASOR was worth the effort, the hercluean effort, of our placing it on a path toward a successful and sustainable future.
      He has invested literally hours, days, weeks into the preparation and planning of a comprehensive development program which will, in cooperation with fundraising professionals, Trustees, ASOR members and staff, address the entire range of modern fundraising approaches, including major donor cultivation, grant-writing to government and private-sector foundations, planned giving, branding and marketing, special events, etc. His seminal role in formulating a new case statement for ASOR's use in raising capital to assist the organization in the realization of its time-honored goals is apparent in two major documents for which he can claim greatest credit: The Conceptual and Programmatic Basis for ASOR's Case for Support and a subsequent and abridged version, Case for Support, October 2005.
      This achievement is historic for ASOR, simply historic, and, if successful in the end, will set this institution and its esteemed members on a course of financial stability and sustainability for the foreseeable future.
      It is a pleasure and privilege to present the 2005 Charles U. Harris Service Award to David Rosenstein.

- Douglas Clark

W.F. Albright Award (CAARI) - David A. Detrich

    The W. F. Albright Award honors an individual who has shown special support or made outstanding service contributions to one of the overseas centers ACOR, AIAR, CAARI, or to one of the overseas committees - the Baghdad committee and the Damascus committee. This year the ASOR Awards Committee has approved this award posthumously for David A. Detrich for outstanding service as board member of CAARI.
     David Detrich joined the Board of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) in 1998. After serving as Secretary for one year, he was elected President in 2001.
     David's interest in Cyprus arose from his fascination with the 19th century diplomat and collector, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, whom he had discovered while collecting stamps. At the time of his death, he was one of the world's foremost authorities on Cesnola: unfortunately his notes and unpublished research have now been lost.
     In his 4 years as President of CAARI, David devoted himself to its welfare and provided stable and generous leadership. His particular concern was students and young scholars, whom he always encouraged and supported, stressing the importance of CAARI's fellowship program and establishing a "President's Award" for the best student paper on Cyprus presented at either the ASOR or AIA annual meetings. He expanded CAARI's use of electronic media, improving its website and overseeing its participation in the Digital Library for International Research. David also courageously guided CAARI to address its long-term needs for additional space and financial stability, which had led the institute to the point of undertaking major new long-term initiatives at the time of his untimely death.
     Especially as a lay person- a true "amateur" - David was remarkable for his devotion to Cypriot studies, archaeological research, and the preservation of the archaeological heritage, and to CAARI itself as a means to further all of those endeavors.

- Ellen Herscher

W.F. Albright Award (AIAR) - Dan Wolk

     It is my pleasure this evening to present the W. F. Albright service award to someone who has labored long and unselfishly on behalf of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. Dan Wolk's connection with the Institute began before he was even born; his parents stayed at the Albright Institute, then the American School in Jerusalem, in 1936. On his office wall Dan keeps a picture of his parents, seated in the garden of the Albright in company with Nelson Glueck and Sir Flinders and Lady Petrie.
     As a young rabbinical student at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Dan spent the year 1959-60 in Jerusalem, where he formed a life-long friendship with the man who would become the Albright's Director, Sy Gitin. That friendship was what launched Dan on his career of involvement with the Albright. A long-term trustee, in 1995, in a moment of crisis for the Institute, he was asked to become the Chairman of the Board, and accepted. He gave distinguished service in that role from 1995-2003, forming an excellent partnership with two presidents, Patty Gerstenblith and myself. Since stepping down as chair in 2003, Dan has continued as member of the Board of Trustees, always willing to help in some capacity. Most recently he is a member of the ad hoc committee to nominate a new slate of officers for the Institute.
     The Board of Trustees, the Director, and the staff of the Albright Institute in Jerusalem join in applauding Rabbi Dan Wolk for his long and distinguished service to the Institute.

- Sidnie Crawford

Membership Service Award - Piotr Michalowski

~ Citation not yet available

Membership Service Award - Sharon Steadman

    Twenty years ago Sharon Steadman and I were classmates at U.C. Berkeley, where she completed her Ph.D. in 1994. By serendipitous good fortune we many years later both ended up in Ithaca, NY, less than ten miles apart. However the exigencies of academic life and field work have meant that most of our contacts have actually been at the Annual Meeting, not in New York State! What can you do?
     Most ASOR members will know Sharon as that "Turkey" woman, due to her work at Çadir Höyük, which she has amply presented at these meetings, and through the many Anatolia sessions she has helped organize over the last decade. It is safe to say that bringing Anatolia in from ASOR's periphery has been one of her labors of love.
     Anyone who has published in BASOR has likely had their work scrutinized by Sharon, who has been Jim Weinstein's bibliographic assistant since 1993, and his editorial assistant from 1996 to the present. Sharon has given up one afternoon most weekends to ensure that the work of others passed muster. For this we all owe her our many thanks.
     Sharon is one of those enthusiastic individuals who always sees the glass as half full; her infectious good humor makes her a pleasure to work with, as anyone currently serving with her on CAMP could attest.
     Through her work as an Associate Professor at SUNY Cortland Sharon has brought anthropological theory, as it is applied today in central Anatolia, to central New York. There she has earned a Chancellor's Excellence in Teaching Award.
     It is exceedingly fitting, with Thanksgiving so close upon us, to honor my neighbor, Professor Sharon Steadman, whose work is so closely associated with Turkey, with this ASOR Membership Service Award.

- Jeff Zorn

Membership Service Award - Gloria London

     Outreach and Public Education are lofty goals often given much lip service, but little volunteer hours, except when one speaks of the next recipient. I take great pride in awarding the 2005 ASOR Member Service Award to Gloria London. First as a member, and later as chair of the Outreach Committee, Gloria's dedication has seen ASOR highlighted through lectures, teacher workshops, regional meetings, the internet, and this year a much anticipated "Digs and Delights" dinner.
     Gloria's work as director of the 2005 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for teachers, "Tel Umayri, Jordan and her Western Neighbors" is a gleaming example of her determination to bring archaeology to educators. An institute of this type was originally planned six years ago as an ASOR program. When that failed to materialize, it was teamed with the Madaba Plains Project-`Umayri for the 2002 summer excavations. When that didn't work either, Gloria reapplied for the 2004 season. Low and behold, for reasons of liability, the NEH refused to let the teachers travel. Gloria never lost faith and immediately started planning a NEH Summer Institute with ASOR and the Semitic Museum at Harvard University as co-sponsors. This came to fruition this past summer at Boston University and Harvard and was a great success. For four weeks, twenty-five teachers from as far as Key West and Hawaii lived, breathed and ate Near Eastern Archaeology, while never leaving the banks of the Charles River.
     Gloria is an amazing woman. Her ethnographic work with the women potters of Cyprus is unmatched. Though she spoke little Greek she found herself surrounded by elderly village women covered in mud. All the while Gloria busily collected information and filmed the potters for posterity. Her work will never be duplicated as most of her informants have since passed away.
     Gloria's steadfastness and vision for expanding the benefits of archaeology to students and teacher's results in a better informed pubic and breeds interest in our field for future generations. Gloria's work places ASOR and all in the field of archaeology in a better light. Congratulations Gloria.

- Kimberly Connors