President’s Report to ASOR Members

May 18, 2026

Dear ASOR Friends,

May was an exceptionally busy month for ASOR’s Board and Committees. I write this letter as part of an on-going plan to keep you up to date on decisions made by the ASOR Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, a request made by many of our members who wish to have a broader understanding of ASOR’s focus and accomplishments. Going forward, you can expect to hear from me on a regular basis.

One of the more important decisions we made was to adopt a Values Statement and a Strategic Plan, which were drafted by the Taskforce on the Strategic Plan and passed unanimously by the Board. In a complex and sometimes chaotic world, it is important to state our shared values and strategic direction as an organization. I really appreciate the members of the Taskforce and Trustees who worked creatively over the course of a year to crystallize our shared sense of purpose. While you can find both the Values Statement and the Strategic Plan prominently displayed on the website, you can get a sense of both below, even as I urge you to read the statements in full.

Values Statement
ASOR is a broad community of individuals who are committed to upholding the following values with integrity as we pursue ASOR’s mission.

Curiosity: To sustain ASOR’s intellectual vitality by advancing excellence, exploring new ideas, skills and methods of research, and disseminating evidence-based knowledge.

Collaboration: To create a welcoming, open environment that respects disparate viewpoints while fostering a sharing of opportunities and resources.

Stewardship: To work with all stakeholders with dignity, courtesy, and fairness; to maintain financial discipline; and to support the responsible management, preservation, and protection of cultural heritage and the communities we work with and within.

Transparency: To communicate openly and honestly; to share conscientiously and often with stakeholders across the scholarly and public landscape.

Strategic Plan 2026 – 2030
ASOR’s Place in the World: ASOR encourages the study of the past through archaeological, historical, art historical, linguistic, and cultural research, along with conservation by fostering conversations about our members’ research and the impact of our studies on the contemporary world. ASOR members promote the preservation of cultural heritage as it relates to global history. Over the next five to ten years, ASOR will undertake the following initiatives to demonstrate our conception of our role in the world.

1. Support high-quality academic research in various venues, giving space for innovative, paradigm-shifting contributions, for example in ASOR’s publications, annual meeting sessions and workshops, and early career scholars and Friends of ASOR activities.

2. Cultivate partnerships in all educational and outreach efforts through the work of ASOR committees and overseas centers.

3. Further develop relationships and collaborative research with local stakeholders and especially affiliated overseas centers, in order to enhance the understanding, preservation, and viability of cultural heritage related to our members’ research and local needs.

4. Assist members in the practical and financial aspects of international research through enlargement of our ongoing grants programs as well as creating and furnishing venues for providing expert information and counsel.

Looking Outward: We aspire to be a leader, communicator, and supporter of innovative, high-quality, forward-thinking scholarship, education, and partnerships related to the study of the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, from Europe to the African Sahel.

1. Strengthen existing platforms and media and activate new fora for scholars and the public alike to enlarge the impact of our members’ contributions to the study of the past as an essential aspect of solutions to issues of today.

2. Increase collaborative educational initiatives geared towards the public and primary and secondary education classroom settings.

3. Develop clear strategies and policies for public-facing outreach and clear communication strategies for access, including translations of materials, for members and other interested parties.

Preparation for the Future: ASOR seeks to continue to expand the audience for its work beyond traditional academics to enhance public understanding of the past and its impact on the present. We aim to support question-based research in the production and preservation of knowledge in the world. ASOR supports diversity that broadens the fields of archaeology, history, art history, linguistics, cultural research and conservation beyond traditional academic careers, by mentoring and supporting early career scholars and scholars in partner countries, and by providing archaeological and technical training for a broad range of interested individuals. ASOR will continue to create and foster support from a broad range of sources to maintain ASOR’s financial stability and resources for our growing membership.

1. Continue expanding and engaging ASOR’s membership, including efforts to increase membership and engagement from groups underrepresented in the field.

2. Foster opportunities through mentorship and skills development to prepare members for diverse fields in a rapidly-shifting social and economic environment. Harness the experience of ASOR’s membership to guide members along their chosen paths.

3. Enhance funding relationships to accomplish our mission and strategic goals.

New Board Trustees
Kiersten Neumann, a Membership-Elected Trustee, was elected an Institutional Trustee, class of 2026, moving into a slot vacated by Eric Cline, President of the W.F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (AIAR), who retained his other seat as Overseas Institute Trustee.
Sarah Costello became a Membership-Elected Trustee, class of 2026.

Cultural Heritage
ASOR has an extraordinary ability to bring together scholars from archaeology, art history, history, science and other fields to protect and study cultural heritage and share its importance with the public. This is especially important as sites are being threatened or destroyed.

ASOR has become an organization that our overseas partners look to as they seek to begin, enhance or find help for their cultural heritage work. Through the hard work of our CH staff, ASOR has been the recipient of several grants, some through the US Department of State, to:

• partner with Libya’s Department of Antiquities to document and repair flood damage at the archaeological sites of Cyrene, Ptolemais and Tocra;
• work collaboratively with the Department of Antiquities of Sudan to strengthen site security and rebuild infrastructure at the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum;
• sign Memoranda of Understanding with the National Heritage Institute (INP) in Tunisia for work in-country, the University of Lausanne for work in Syria, and the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield for protection of cultural heritage world-wide.

Policy Discussions
Over the past year, the Programs Committee, the Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy, and the Committee on Publications have asked the Executive Committee and Board for guidance on issues outlined in ASOR’s current Code of Professional Conduct. The Board, after much deliberation and discussion, concurred that some of the language should be updated and revised. I have convened a taskforce to re-examine and rewrite the Code to provide clearer direction for members and committees. This taskforce is in the earliest stages of work, which will be complex and guided by ASOR’s recently approved Values Statement. Trustees would like to hear from you and I would appreciate your help by participating in a committee or contact me at president@asor.org.

As a corollary to this discussion, the Board affirmed that, as an apolitical organization, ASOR will not publish political statements coming officially from the Board.

Committee Participation
To make your voice heard, please consider joining a committee to help shape ASOR’s future. Reach out to the chair of the committee you are interested in serving on; get to know committee members at the Annual Meeting; watch the announcements for committee openings. Much of ASOR’s work is accomplished through committees – ASOR is you!

Best regards,

Jane DeRose Evans
President

Appeal from ASOR’s Board Chair

May 15, 2026

Dear ASOR Friends,

For 125 years, ASOR has been at the forefront of research on the cultures and history of the Near East and wider Mediterranean—supporting fieldwork, mentoring emerging scholars, publishing rigorous scholarship, and helping safeguard cultural heritage in regions where it is most at risk. That mission feels more vital than ever, and it is sustained by a community of members and donors who believe this work matters. Thank you for being part of it.

In about 4 weeks, we will conclude another positive ASOR fiscal year (June 30) with many accomplishments to celebrate.

Just a few months ago, we held our 125th anniversary celebration at the Annual Meeting. At that time, we announced the successful completion of the $5 million ASOR 2025 fundraising initiative, with final results now totaling $6.4 million, including $3.9 million in cash gifts along with $2.5 million in documented legacy gifts. The funds raised position ASOR very well for the future, sustaining the investments we have made to increase our capacity and advance our mission.

More recently, at the spring Board of Trustees meeting, we adopted a new strategic plan to guide us for 2026–2030, as we transition to our new President, Jane DeRose Evans. Alongside the strategic plan, we affirmed four core values for ASOR – curiosity, collaboration, stewardship, and transparency. You can find more on both the strategic plan and values at these links. A big thanks to the members who served on the task forces that shaped this work.

We are proud of our progress at ASOR, but real challenges remain. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including the most recent engagement involving the US, Israel, Iran, and other countries in the region, weighs heavily on our community and disrupts fieldwork, partnerships, and heritage we share with colleagues across the area. The environment for federal grants supporting cultural heritage work remains extremely difficult. We have also engaged more seriously in recent years with questions about how our professional conduct policy applies to research in contested territories—difficult conversations that reflect a diverse community committed to thinking carefully about its responsibilities. And despite ASOR maintaining a very healthy balance sheet, with growth overall in assets and endowments, we face another year of drawing on prior-year reserves to balance our operating budget.

With these challenges in mind, the Development Committee, with the support of the Board of Trustees, has committed to meet or exceed our Annual Fund goal of $150,000 for fiscal year 2026 and to increase the goal to $200,000 for fiscal year 2027. This increase reflects the reality that our fundraising needs to keep up with the investments we are making in the talented staff who support our members in carrying out our mission.

As we near the end of the fiscal year on June 30, I ask you to consider an unrestricted gift to ASOR. We are currently about $22,000 short of this year’s goal of $150,000. The Annual Fund is what allows ASOR to deliver its programs year in and year out, and with fewer federal grants supporting our cultural heritage work and community outreach, your participation matters more than ever.

If you have already contributed this fiscal year, thank you. If you haven’t yet made a gift—or if you have given and are in a position to give again at this important moment— I hope you will join me before June 30. I deeply appreciate your support.

Best regards,

Sheldon Fox
Chairman, Board of Trustees