Appointments
The Museum is proud to announce the appointment of Spyros Iakovidis, Professor of Classical Archaeology in the University of Pennsylvania, as Curator of the Mediterranean Section in succession to the late Rodney Young who died in 1974. Professor Iakovidis, who took up his appointment on July 1, is one of the world’s most distinguished classical archaeologists, specializing in the Mycenaean period. His career in Greece, as a member of the Greek Archaeological Service and subsequently as Professor of Archaeology in the University of Athens, involved him in excavations in Athens and at Eleusis, Mycenae, Pylos, Perati and other sites. He is working this summer at the great fortified site of Gla. where he hopes to continue excavation in future seasons for the Greek Archaeological Society and in association with the University Museum. The Museum extends to him and to his wife, Athena, a distinguished author and translator in her own right, a very warm welcome.
We are delighted to welcome Robert Schuyler as Associate Professor in the Department of American Civilization and as Associate Curator in charge of the American Historical Archaeology Section of the Museum. Professor Schuyler’s appointment emphasizes the University Museum’s commitment to the archaeology of the recent past and underlines our determination to play a role in the study of the development of our own region. Professor Schuyler, who comes to the University of Pennsylvania from the City College of the City University of New York, received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1974. He is a prolific author and Editor of the North American Archaeologist. We look forward to his leadership of MICA (the Museum Institute for Conservation Archaeology) and to his contributions to the field founded here by our distinguished colleague, John Cotter.
Robert H. Dyson, Jr., Curator of the Near Eastern Section of the University Museum, has been named Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Dyson has been associated with the University and the Museum since 1954. During that time, in addition to his duties in Philadelphia, he has been in charge of the Museum’s excavations in Iran and is perhaps best known for the discovery of the ninth century B.C. golden bowl at Hasanlu in the northern part of that country. The Hasanlu Project which involves the whole area around Lake Urmia is one of the major field operations of the Museum. More recently he worked also in southern Iran where his discovery of the prehistoric city of Anshan is of first importance. The Museum congratulates Dr. Dyson on his appointment and wishes him success.
Director’s Prize Award
The Director of the University Museum Prize for the best senior thesis has been awarded this year to Nancy Bartman of the American Section for her thesis, “The Humpbacked Flute Player in Anasazi Rock Art: an iconographic analysis.”
Grant to the Education Department
The Ludwick Institute has made a grant of $5,000 to the Education Department to support the program to bring more public school children of the City of Philadelphia to the Museum in organized groups. In 1978 some 40,000 children visited the Museum under the guidance of Gillian Wakely and her staff, ably supported by the Volunteer Guides, but only 10,000 were from the Philadelphia School System. With the aid of the Ludwick Institute’s fine gift, we hope to see many more Philadelphia school children in the Museum in the year ahead.