ASOR seeks volunteers for a Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This Task Force will be comprised of 10-12 ASOR members to be selected by Oct. 1, 2020. We will ask the Task Force to present a preliminary report on next steps directions to take at the spring 2021 Board of Trustees’ meeting. The Task Force will work with ASOR leadership and the Chairs Coordinating Council (CCC) in helping revise the ASOR Strategic Plan. The full charge to the Task Force is posted on the ASOR web site. The summary charge is as follows:

We archaeologists, ancient historians, and philologists who make up the professional membership of ASOR study the origins, growth, and transformations of systemically unequal social orders in the past, and we have a duty to use our knowledge to fight the perpetuation of oppressive systems in the present. To that end, the Task Force on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will seek out methods and recommend programs through which ASOR can recruit and support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) members by (1) identifying partners in community organizations and institutions; (2) creating fundraising initiatives for scholarships that promote BIPOC participation at meetings and in the field; (3) recommending sensitivity training programs for ASOR leadership; and (4) collaborating with all ASOR committees and leadership to integrate these objectives across all areas of our new strategic plan.

Those interested in serving on the task force should contact the Chair, Erin Darby (edarby1@utk.edu). We hope to have the task force determined by Oct. 1, 2020.