RESERVE YOUR HOTEL ROOM FOR THE 2013 ANNUAL MEETING
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Rooms at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel are filling up fast! The ASOR conference hotel has sold out for the last seven years, and we anticipate to have an even higher demand for rooms this year. Not only do we expect to have more attendees than every before, but the ASOR hotel is located very near to the convention center. This location will result in even more demand because of the AAR/SBL conference that immediately follows the ASOR meeting.
Please make your hotel reservations as soon as possible to ensure that you have a room. While the room block is technically open until October 19, 2013, the rate ($145 / night for singles and doubles) is subject to availability. In other words, the hotel will not sale rooms after the ASOR block is sold out. Please also remember conference registration and hotel reservations are two, separate steps.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR is proud to announce thatBASOR (The Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research—ISSN: 0003-097X) will be switching to bi-annual production in 2013. A production schedule change that allows for the following enhancements:
The page-count of BASOR will expand by more than 25%.
The journal will be published in color throughout and not just in plates.
The journal will appear twice a year (May and November) with 256 pages in each issue.
These enhancements follow an extensive self-study. The editorial board determined that color photographs throughout the journal would better complement the content. Our research also revealed that some peer journals were reducing their page count, and thus reducing the page length allowed for each article. Our reviewers concluded that longer articles are often required for synthetic historical studies and for archaeological articles, but there were few highly respected options for these articles. We expanded the page count by more than 25% so that we could consider longer articles. The move to a bi-annual publication will give us even more flexibility. As a result of these changes, we have already seen a 50% increase in article submissions by authors.
The new look will include increased use of vibrant color, a new cover, a new font appropriate for both print and online media, and a more streamlined and user-friendly table of contents. The redesign will also make use of premier graphic design technologies to deliver a visually superior print and e-journal product that is easy for readers to navigate.
BASOR has been one of the premier journals in the field for almost 100 years, and we are are excited to enhance a publication, which is already considered to be of the highest quality. BASOR is available in print or electronic format. To purchase an individual subscription, print and mail a subscription form, or contact the ASOR publications department by phone (617-236-0408) or email. To purchase a subscription for an institution, contact JSTOR.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
SPECIAL OFFER ON THE JCS SUPPLEMENTAL SERIES SAVE UP TO 50% OFF THE LIST PRICE WITH A NEW STANDING ORDER
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ISD and ASOR are pleased to offer special discounts on select titles from the Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplemental Series. All volumes are available at 20% off list price (just enter discount code “071-13” at checkout). Click here to for more information. If an individual or instution signs up for a new standing order, all volumes (including the forthcoming volume) are available at 50% off. (Return PDF form to ISD to receive the 50%-off; you may also e-mail or call ISD [1-860-584-6546]).
The JCS Supplemental Series is an annual monograph series dedicated to publishing interpretive studies on the ancient near East. Each volume is refereed and thoroughly edited.
by Paul Delnero
Drawing from a detailed analysis of the different types of textual variants that occur in the numerous duplicates of a group of ten compositions known collectively as the Decad, this book aims to provide a much needed critical methodology for interpreting textual variation in the Sumerian literary corpus which can be applied to editing and analyzing these compositions with improved accuracy. 230pp (American Schools of Oriental Research 2012, Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplemental Series 3) hardcover, 9780897570886, $89.95. Special Offer $72.00 [enter “071-13” at checkout to receive discount]
by Seth F.C. Richardson
This volume publishes and discusses 186 cuneiform documents from the Late Old Babylonian period (1683–1595 BC), including 95 hand copies, mostly from Sippar texts in British Museum collections. In extensive notes, the reader will find discussions of provisioning systems, chronology, terminologies, land redistribution and ritual and military economies, in addition to the expected apparatus of indexes, concordances and catalogues. 232pp, illus (American Schools of Oriental Research 2011, Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplemental Series 2) hardcover, 9780897570848, $75.00. Special Offer $60.00 [enter “071-13” at checkout to receive discount]
On the Third Dynasty of Ur
Studies in Honor of Marcel Sigrist
edited by Piotr Michalowski
The Ur III period (2112–2004 BC) was one of the more significant periods in the history of ancient Mesopotamia. We would not have so many published texts at our disposal if it were not for the tireless efforts of Marcel Sigrist of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, whose scholarship and generosity are celebrated in this volume in twenty-seven essays by an international group of grateful experts. 313pp, b/w illus (American Schools of Oriental Research 2008, Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplemental Series 1) hardcover, 9780897570800, $75.00. Special Offer $60.00 [enter “071-13” at checkout to receive discount]
Forthcoming Fall 2013
Current Research at Kultepe/Kanesh: An Interdisciplinary and Integrative Approach to Trade Networks, Internationalism, and Identity
Edited by Levent Atici, Fikri Kulakoglu, Gojko Barjamovic and Andrew Fairbairn
The primary goal of this JCSSS volume is to integrate the work of scholars in archaeology, archaeometry, bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology, and history on the site of Kultepe to develop a new synthetic research paradigm for investigating issues of trade, colonialism, ethnicity, art, identity, and urbanization in the Near East in a unified fashion. (American Schools of Oriental Research, Fall 2013, Journal of Cuneiform Studies Supplemental Series 4) hardcover, 9780897570091, $89.95. Special Offer $72.00 [enter “071-13” at checkout to receive discount]
Half-price special: Receive 50% off all four volumes with a new standing order
(Return PDF form to ISD to receive the 50%-off; you may also e-mail or call ISD [1-860-584-6546]).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]ASOR’s Regional Affiliations Committee and Lecture Committee are combining resources for the second year to support ASOR members who are organizing lectures and events on archaeological or historical topics related to ASOR’s mission. This goals of this collaboration are to increase ASOR’s presence in events throughout the year and to promoting ASOR’s mission of public outreach.
Preference will be given to proposals for special programming at Regional ASOR Meetings (including co-sponsoring a regional lecture event) that enhance ASOR membership and visibility, as well as to proposals for lectures or events beyond the Regional Meetings that promise to attract an audience of potential new ASOR members.
Preference will be given to proposals for $500, but the committee will consider proposals for smaller or larger amounts. The acceptance of funds carries the obligation that the host will acknowledge the support of ASOR, provide a short description of some of ASOR’s principal projects, promote ASOR membeship as appropriate, and designate a space where ASOR materials can be exhibited.
The funds will be awarded in keeping with these criteria and according to the following timeline:
May 1: Deadline for first round of proposals.
June 15: Deadline for second round of proposals (depending on remaining funds).
October 1: Deadline for third review of proposal. Award of remaining funds.
Proposals that were not funded in the preceding round will be considered in the following round.
Please submit your short proposal (250 words or less), with description of the event and a budget, before 4:00pm Eastern Time on the respective date to Britta Abeln.
If you have questions, please contact Jacob L. Wright or Suzanne Richard.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The ASOR Archives has partnered with ASOR member Bart Wagemakers (University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht) and the family of the late Biblical scholar and photographer Leo Boer, to make Boer’s photographic records of his travels in the Near East available online. While the physical photographs reside in the Netherlands, the photos will soon be made available online in the ASOR digital archives. Browse an in-progress list of the photos, and learn more about Leo Boer.
In the early 1950s, Boer photographed his travels throughout the region, cataloguing anything that interested him. This included archaeological sites, ruins, Bedouin communities, city life, religious sites and festivals, landscapes, and anything else he came across. One series of events that Boer documented was the Christian Holy Week in Jerusalem. Holy Week, which includes processions on Palm Sunday and Holy Friday, provided Boer with an excellent opportunity to photograph the city as well as the religious festival. Though Holy Week is a series of Christian holidays (observed this past week), these images will be of interest to anyone fascinated by the history of the city of Jerusalem, religious observances, or the ambiance of vintage film.
Palm Sunday, April 11, 1954
First Station, April 24, 1954
Third Station, April 24, 1954
Ninth Station, April 24, 1954
If you would like more information about these photos, or would like to reproduce them in some manner, please contact ASOR’s archivist, Cynthia Rufo, or the custodian of the physical collection, Bart Wagemakers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
On February 25th, ASOR’sFacebook page surpassed 5,593 likes, meaning our page has nearly three times as many fans as ASOR has traditional members! The past year has been an exciting period of growth for ASOR’s social media, and in little more than a year, over 4,000 fans have followed our page. Our weekly reach (the total number of people who see content from our page, including those who have not yet begun following it) is about 9,000 viewers, and we continue to add about 25 to 50 new fans every week. The ASOR Blog, which is frequently cross-linked with our Facebook page, receives 13,000 visitors per month. Thank you for making our page so popular! If you are on Facebook and have not yet liked us, please do so! We update it regularly with a wide variety of news and announcements.
Make sure to check in on Facebook for archaeology news, job and conference announcements, ASOR Blog posts, and occasionally fun pictures from the ASOR archives. One of the most popular features is the weekly link to Archaeology Weekly Roundup. If you have any news or other items that you would like to share, please feel free to let us know through Facebook or via email. We plan to expand our outreach in 2013, and we invite you to participate.
Don’t have time for Facebook? You can follow us on Twitter instead @ AmerSchOrietRes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
ASOR ELECTS FOUR TRUSTEES DURING THE 2012 MEMBERS’ MEETING AT THE ANNUAL MEETING
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This year, there were eight people who ran for four slots on the ASOR board as members of the Class of 2015. The election took place on November 16, 2012 at the Annual ASOR Members’ Meeting which is held during the Annual Meeting. The general membership elected two individual trustees, and institutional representatives elected two institutional trustees:
Susan Ackerman is the Preston H. Kelsey Professor of Religion and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Dartmouth College. Her publications include several articles and three books, Under Every Green Tree: Popular Religion in Sixth-Century Judah (Scholars Press, 1992); Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel (Doubleday, 1998); and When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David (Columbia University Press, 2005). She has recently completed a draft of a new book, on women and the religion of ancient Israel. She has been a member of the ASOR Board of Trustees since 2007, and during that time has also served on the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee and its Strategic Planning Task Force. Currently, she is serving the Board as a member of the Capital Campaign Cabinet and the Board Chair Search Committee. Other current service to ASOR includes serving as a member of the Committee on Publications and on the editorial board of Near Eastern Archaeology.
Susan’s vision for ASOR: “During my now six years on the Board, what has impressed me the most is ASOR’s ever-growing vitality. The three key components of our organization — the annual meeting; publications; and our support of archaeological excavations and excavators — are all thriving, and our adoption of our new Strategic Plan and the success we anticipate for our on-going Capital Campaign position us to flourish even more. To be sure, significant challenges lie ahead, in particular, identifying a successor to our venerable Board Chair, P. E. MacAllister. But our ability to meet significant challenges in these past few years—most important, getting our financial house in order—makes me confident that ASOR can continue to prosper, and I would be honored to continue my work as a Trustee in aid of the organization’s well-being.”
Catherine Duff has been a member of ASOR for the past 10 years and began presenting at Annual Meetings early in her doctoral studies. Her dissertation is entitled Ceramic Continuity and Change at Shechem (Tell Balatâh): Assessing the Impact of Egyptian Imperialism in the Central Hill County, which she defended in 2010 at the University of Toronto. She has participated in excavations at Tell Jawa and Wadi ath-Thamad in Jordon and Tell el-Borg in the Northeast Sinai. Catherine currently serves as a Board Member for the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies in Toronto. Her volunteer work includes the Toronto Humane Society and Pathways to Education tutoring Program in Regent Park. Prior to returning to studies, Catherine was a journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) in Atlantic Canada. Currently, she works at the University of Toronto at the OISE Library and continues to do ceramic research in the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. In her spare time, Catherine loves to cross-country ski, play beach volleyball, and hang out with her two rescues, Shultz, a mini-dachshund and Hunter, a Lhasa Apso.
Catherine’s vision for ASOR: “ASOR has played a pivotal role in my development as a graduate student and young scholar, since it has provided a critical and thoughtful venue for presenting my doctoral research at Annual Meetings, along with scholarships to attend these meetings. The opportunity to give back to a professional organization as an ASOR Board of Trustees member is one I value greatly and will perform with diligence and enthusiasm. Since becoming a member of ASOR more than 10 years ago, I have observed tremendous growth, renewal and vitality in our organization and its members, especially graduate students and young scholars. I wish to continue this progress and look forward to working with you and sharing my ideas about positioning ourselves to attract and encourage even more young scholars to ASOR.”
Barry Gittlen received his Ph.D. from the Department of Oriental Studies of the University of Pennsylvania. He has spent most of his life in archaeological pursuit of the past, mining the antique soils of decayed ruins in search of ancient Israel, Canaan, and Philistia. Combining the disciplines of Archaeology and Biblical Studies, Dr. Gittlen strives to bring the past to life and to reach new understandings of Canaanite, Philistine, and Israelite civilizations. Dr. Gittlen‘s research includes publishing his sector of the excavations at Tel Miqne/Ekron, understanding the mechanisms of ancient trade, and exploring the archaeology of worship. In addition to Tel Miqne/Ekron, his excavation experience includes Tel Gezer, the Jenin-Megiddo Survey, Tel Jemmeh, Tel Sera, and Be’er Resisim/Har Resisim. Finally, Barry Gittlen has been an involved member of ASOR since 1966 and has worked on various committees, chaired the Program Committee, and served as a trustee of the Albright Institute. He is in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Towson University.
Barry’s Vision for ASOR: “ASOR has grown stronger and more financially stable over the past three years. Fiscal and administrative evolution can help keep ASOR vital but we need to grow further. Priorities for the future (not in any particular order) should include: a) Attract and expand academic membership (both institutional and professional); b) Encourage and educate new colleagues, nurture their fresh ideas and new scholarship; c) Expand popular appeal both for itself and as a means of maintaining financial vitality; d) Continue and expand outreach to the K-12 community (this is how we create our future!); e) Support ASOR publications’ development of new modalities of presenting the results of archaeological and textual research; f) Seize the opportunities these unsettled times in our sphere of interest provide for the publication of survey and excavation data; g) Actively promote our brand within our own institutions and beyond so that anyone wishing to know anything about the ancient Near East will instinctively turn to ASOR.”
Ann-Marie Knoblauchreceived her Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College in Classical Archaeology in 1997. Since 1998, she has been teaching ancient art history and archaeology in the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech, while serving as the School’s Associate Director since 2011. Her research interests bridge east and west, especially Cyprus and Greece during the archaic and classical periods. She is interested in iconography, religion and the role of women. Ann-Marie has excavated in Israel, Greece and Cyprus (at Yeronisos Island, and at Idalion since 1998). Ann-Marie has chaired several ASOR sessions on Cyprus, guest co-edited Near Eastern Archaeology, (71 no. 1-2) Ancient Cyprus: American Research. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of CAARI since 2002, and a member of the NEA editorial board since 2008. She is finishing her first three-year term as a board member of ASOR. While on the Board, Ann-Marie has been a member of the Executive Committee, the ASOR Board Presidential Search Committee, the Nominations Committee and the Task Force for Implementing the ASOR Strategic Plan.
Ann-Marie’s Vision for ASOR: “As a scholar trained in classical archaeology, I am especially interested in the links and cultural exchange between ancient Near Eastern cultures and the western Mediterranean and how this exchanged manifested itself in the material culture. I believe our study of the ancient Near East is enhanced by balancing and integrating two views: one that appreciates the unique identities that comprise the cultures from this part of the world; with one that seeks to understand the ways in which cultures engage, interact and form part of a larger whole. To me, the success (and value) of an organization such as ASOR is the ways in which it can serve to promote both the uniqueness of each culture as well as the compelling insights we gain from exploring the intersections among them.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684098866{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_wp_posts title=”BROWSE THE NEWS ARCHIVE” number=”4″][/vc_column][vc_column border_color=”rgba(170,170,170,0.01)” width=”1/6″ css=”.vc_custom_1496684008271{margin-right: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 30px !important;border-right-width: 2px !important;border-bottom-width: 2px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;border-right-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;border-bottom-color: rgba(227,228,228,0.75) !important;}”][vc_column_text]Tweets by ASOResearch [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It’s that time of year again! March Fellowship Madness is a month-long drive to raise as many fellowship dollars as possible, so we can get more students in the field! Last year, 80 donors joined in the madness and gave over $9,000. That meant that ASOR was able to award nine additional travel scholarships! That’s nine additional scholars who were able to conduct field research and expand our knowledge of the ancient Near East. How many more students can we send to the field this year?
As you know, ASOR’s mission is to support archaeology in the Near East, and now we have an exciting opportunity for you to support students of archaeology directly! ASOR is very fortunate to have some endowment funds that provide base level funding for scholarships. In addition, Heritage donors contribute $2,500 each to provide additional scholarships. These funding sources enable us to grant about 30 travel scholarships each year. While this support is generous, the need always exceeds what we have available. With shrinking academic budgets and with federal support shrinking as well, more and more students are applying for scholarships. This year we anticipate two to three times the applications than the available funds. We need ASOR’s members to make gifts of any size so that more students can go into the field. ASOR does not charge any administrative fee for gifts made during March Fellowship Madness, so 100% of your contribution supports students who have a demonstrated need.
Last Year ASOR awarded 42 scholarships, and our goal this year is to award 75 total grants (including the Harris Grants). Many of the gifts supporting these scholarships were small, but they added up. Rob Oden, ASOR development chair and president emeritus of Carleton College, has written a brief essay on the importance of these small donations: “Why All Gifts to ASOR Matter.” The short answer is that the smaller gifts add up and multiply and broad participation by ASOR’s members attracts major donors to provide transformative support. If 100 people donate $25, we will raise an additional $2,500 for scholarships. If another 50 people donate $50, we’ll add another $2,500. If 25 people give $100, then that is yet another $2,500. It’s not hard to see how the math adds up and how more and more students can go into the field. In addition, we have received two challenge gifts that will provide matching funds for gifts of any size, so all gifts are truly meaningful!
We hope that you will join the madness and help transform a student’s career by sending him or her into the field. Here’s what past fellowship recipients have said about their experiences:
“None of this would have been possible without ASOR’s Heritage Fellowship and all of the amazing people who donated their hard earned money to make the fellowships possible. I can’t thank you all enough for the amazing experience I was given.” –Stephanie Boonstra, 2012 Heritage Fellow
“Knowing that the work we accomplished this summer adds inch by inch toward a better understanding of the lives, economy, and industry of the people who inhabited the area so long ago makes me all the more grateful for the chance to be a part of the Tayinat excavations, and to the Heritage donors who made it possible.” -Emily Coate, 2012 Heritage Fellow
You can support archaeology in a very direct way by giving any amount to March Fellowship Madness. How many new fellowships can we raise fund with your donations in the month of March alone? Be a team player and donate before the buzzer sounds! Remember, 100% of your gift goes to support student scholarships.
Goals:
Total number of donors: 100 (last year we had 80)
Total amount of funds raised: $10,000 (last year we raised $9,200)
Challenge gifts: Two trustees have pledged to donate an additional $5,000 to the Heritage Program if we meet our first two goals.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2012 WINTER ASOR TRUSTEE MEETING
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Approved the Fiscal Year 2012 Audit and an Investment and Spending Policy for ASOR. Also approved the journal escrow requirement for 2012 to ensure that adequate funds are set aside to publish ASOR’s journals.
Unanimously elected Assistant Treasurer Richard Coffman to serve a three-year term as treasurer (2013–2015). Enthusiastically thanked Sheldon Fox who served two terms as treasurer.
Unanimously elected to serve a three-year term (2013–2015). Enthusiastically thanked James F. Strange for ten years of service as secretary.
Unanimously elected B. W. Ruffner to serve as ASOR Board Chair for a three-year term (July 2013 – June 2016). Current Board Chair P. E. MacAllister will be transitioning to Chairman Emeritus as of June 30, 2013.
Unanimously elected the following people as board elected trustees for the Class of 2015: Sheldon Fox, B. W. Ruffner, James F. Strange.
Expressed enthusiastic appreciation to those trustees who were completing terms on the board and would be rotating off the board as of December 31, 2012: Christopher Rollson, Audrey Shaffer, Susan Sheridan, Randall Younker.
Heard report from the Executive Committee’s September meeting. Following a recommendation from the Publications Committee, the EC approved spending up to $10,000 per year (if necessary) for up to two years to cover the increased cost of moving BASOR to color and increasing the page count by 25%. The EC also approved spending donated funds to start two new e-Newsletters (News@ASOR and The Ancient Near East Today) and a webinar initiative.
Received the Development Committee report about the Building a Foundation for ASOR Campaign. The Campaign has exceeded the half-way mark of the $1.3 million goal with the expectation to complete the campaign by June 30, 2014. The trustees were asked to affirm their commitment to successfully completing the campaign, and everyone present stood as a sign of their support.
Unanimously passed a motion instructing the President to appoint a committee to draft a statement for the board consideration on the responsibilties of individual trustees. The document should be intended to guide the board on what to do if invidual trustees bring ethical issues to the larger board for consideration.
Unanimously and enthusiastically passed a motion to express appreciation to James Weinstein who has announced that he will be stepping down as editor of BASOR on June 30, 2014 after more than a decade of service.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The William F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem is pleased to announce the winner of the twelfth annual competition for the Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize. This award offers $650 for the best published article or paper presented at a conference by a Ph.D. candidate in Syro-Palestinian or Biblical Archaeology. Authors may be of any nationality but the article or paper must be in English.
The joint winners this year are Heather Dana Davis Parker (at right, PhD candidate in Northwest Semitics and Hebrew Bible in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at The Johns Hopkins University) and Ashley Fiutko Arico (below, PhD candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at The Johns Hopkins University).
Their paper, “A Moabite-Inscribed Statue Fragment from Kerak: Possible Egyptian Parallels,” was presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research and at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, both in San Francisco.
The Sean W. Dever Prize was established in 2001 by Mrs. Norma Dever and Professor William G. Dever, in memory of their son Sean.