News from ASOR’s President and Looking for Your Input

October 5, 2026

Dear All,

As our profession grows and changes, one of my highest priorities as ASOR president is to involve you, our members, directly in the discussion and decision-making about ASOR’s important policies and initiatives. With the Annual Meeting approaching, I want to share some information about what to expect there and what has been happening at ASOR over the summer.

Please take a look at the Annual Meeting schedule and find the exciting talks that interest you most. I want to draw your attention to two new parts of the meeting:

Meet Your Board Members: On Friday, November 20, at 10:20 am, ASOR’s Board members will be in the Grand Ballroom to informally talk to you and hear your thoughts and ideas about all things ASOR-related. Grab your coffee or tea and come say hello.

Share Your Thoughts: Later that day at the Members’ Meeting (12:55-1:55 pm, Waldorf Room), I have set aside time for members of the Taskforce on the Review of the Code of Professional Conduct to answer questions from members. This Code, a guide for all Board and committee actions, serves as the foundation for how ASOR members contribute to ASOR’s mission and steers the actions on extremely complex and timely issues. It is also intended to be updated on a regular basis, which the Taskforce has been asked to consider. While I have initiated discussion at this level, I know that we will need time and lots more input from ASOR members before we are ready to bring a revised document to the Board. 

I am looking to you for help. Please read the Code of Professional Conduct and send us your thoughts in the anonymous survey that was sent via email today. I hope the Taskforce can get as many questions answered as possible during the meeting, but if not there, we can set up another venue to discuss the issues with ASOR members.

Here are a couple of other things that happened at ASOR over the summer:

Title IX Changes: As ASOR president, I signed a letter to the US Department of Education suggesting that the proposed changes eliminating peer review in the Title IX grant application reviews were not needed nor helpful. Both of ASOR’s overseas centers apply and receive Title IX funding. If you would like to see the letter, please let me know. I decided that writing this letter was not a contradiction of ASOR’s policy of not making political statements, as ASOR could offer expertise on this particular issue.

“Orphaned” Objects: I also signed a letter in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of America suggesting that the proposed changes to policies on the publication of “orphaned” objects (those with no known history after 1970) was contrary to ASOR policies, which were put in place to help combat illegal excavations. This proposal was made within UNIDROIT (an international independent organization that helps to create uniform legal standards for global commerce). If you are interested in the joint letter, I can also share that with you.

ASOR Website: If you have had a chance to look at the website, please thank Jared, Moni, Marta and the committee that has been cleaning up the pages to make them more useful. The committee is also working with other ASOR committees to expand the usefulness of the site and you will see more changes in the coming months.

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago,

Jane DeRose Evans, ASOR President