Annual Report 2012-2013
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ANNUAL REPORT 2012-2013 1 ON THE COVER Members of the Penn Museum’s Young Friends admire the Roman mosaic from Lod, Israel. Photo by Elizabeth Russell. 2 contents 3 Letter from the Chair of the Board of Overseers 4 Letter from the Williams Director 6 Looking Back: The Penn Museum’s 125th Anniversary 8 Looking Forward: A New Mission THE YEAR IN REVIEW Research 10 Research Projects around the World Teaching 24 Student Teaching, Engagement, and Research Collections Stewardship 28 Building Renovations and Upgrades 29 Expanding Our Collections: New Acquisitions 31 Preserving Our Collections: Conservation Work 33 A Rich History: The Museum Archives 35 Preserving Knowledge: Digitizing Collections and Research Archives 39 Stewarding Our Collections: The Museum’s NAGPRA Office and Committee 41 Protecting the World’s Cultural Heritage: The Penn Cultural Heritage Center Public Engagement 43 In the Galleries: New Exhibitions and Displays 50 A Living Museum: Public Lectures, Special Programs, Film Series, Family Programs, and Evening Events 58 Community Outreach: Educational Programs and Collaborations 65 Sharing Our Collections: Outgoing Loans and Traveling Exhibitions 68 Disseminating Knowledge: Penn Museum Publications 69 Engaging the World: The Museum Website, Social Media, and Online Videos SUPPORTING THE MISSION 72 Operational Highlights and Statement of Museum Fiscal Year Activity 74 Making History at the Penn Museum 76 2012–2013 Leadership Gifts 80 Capital Support 81 Programmatic Support 84 Annual Unrestricted Support 93 Honor and Memorial Gifts 94 Institutional Support 95 Legacy Giving University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology PENN MUSEUM PEOPLE 3260 South Street 96 Penn Museum Volunteers and Staff Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324 ©2013 University of Pennsylvania All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted, all images are courtesy of the Penn Museum. 1 2 | ar 2 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS HE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM—AS THE public galleries in addition to the Widener Lecture Room, and Penn Museum has been known for much of its have come close to completing our fundraising goal for new history—was officially founded by Provost William teaching and conservation laboratories, while newly endowed Pepper on December 6, 1887, to house artifacts positions and programs are strengthening the Museum’s ability to from an upcoming University-sponsored excavation make a difference in the future. Throughout all, membership and Tto Nippur. Following 12 years of extraordinary hard work and annual fund gifts sustained the Museum’s core programs. generosity on the part of its new Board of Managers, what we The generosity that made all of this possible has been now refer to as the Original Wing was completed, appointed with heartwarming, and we profoundly appreciate each and every magnificent displays of newly acquired collections, and officially one of our 8,309 Campaign donors—alumni, parents, friends, dedicated on December 20, 1899, in a ceremony in its Widener and institutions. In the pages that follow we have endeavored to Lecture Room in which Provost Charles Custis Harrison formally recognize appropriately the leaders among them, but a special accepted the gift of the new museum building and collections mention for extraordinary support throughout the Campaign on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania. The highlights of must go to Charles Williams, the late Crawford Greenewalt, 2012–2013 included landmark celebrations of both of these and the Kolb Foundation, in addition to the Grahams and the historic dates. Mainwarings already noted above. Specifically during 2012–2013, The Penn Museum celebrated its 125th anniversary on special thanks for new capital gifts to Charles, the Mainwarings, December 6, 2012, in a 12-hour open house during which the and Dan Kamin (in recognition of which we were honored public was invited to meet its curators, staff, and students, and to to dedicate the Daniel G. Kamin Entrance at the Campaign explore both its galleries and behind-the-scenes areas. On April Celebration in April), as well as to Rick and Frances Rockwell for 18, 2013, the Museum joined the University in celebrating the continuing their lead support for our exhibition and conservation spectacular success of the $4.3 billion Making History Campaign programs. by rededicating the Widener Lecture Room, beautifully restored I note with both pride and gratitude that over 60 percent of and renovated thanks to a magnificent lead gift from Ingrid and the $49 million raised at the Museum during Making History came Donald Graham with additional generous support from Peggy and from members of our Board of Overseers, and I want to end in Bruce Mainwaring. Provost Vincent Price welcomed guests from thanking my fellow Board members for their leadership. A warm the same stage on which his predecessor Provost Harrison had acknowledgment of Nanou Zayan, who stepped down after a accepted the gift of the Museum so many years earlier. term as an outstanding ambassador for the Penn Museum; we are Gifts and commitments to the Museum during Making delighted that Nanou will continue her association through the History exceeded $49 million and support a host of new projects Director’s Council. strengthening the Museum’s four key pillars—research, teaching, The Penn Museum’s 125th Anniversary provided an collections stewardship, and public engagement. opportunity to reflect back on a history of extraordinary activity; Thanks to donors to Making History, Penn undergraduates the Making History Campaign has enhanced every aspect of our can have archaeological fieldwork experiences participating Museum today, and built a foundation that opens great possibility in new and continuing expeditions also funded by Campaign for the future. The celebration of both in 2012–2013 provided a dollars; scholars and the public can engage with the Museum’s perfect moment in time for the Museum, with a new Director, to vast collections digitally through a robust and growing new redefine its mission and embark on a new strategic plan. I look online collections database and enjoy more than 1,000 videos of forward very much to reflecting on the first steps in that plan this archival films or recent lectures on its YouTube channel; special time next year. exhibitions like Secrets of the Silk Road and MAYA 2012: Lords of Time introduced audiences to spectacular stories about our shared human heritage, while the ongoing exhibition In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies allows visitors to engage in current research and the importance of museum conservation. Also through Campaign gifts, we have been able to transform MICHAEL J. KOWALSKI PHOTO BY C. BRIAN BY ROSEPHOTO the West Wing of the original 1899 building, renovating five CHAIR, BOARD OF OVERSEERS 3 LETTER FROM THE WILLIAMS DIRECTOR T WAS A PARTICULAR HONOR TO JOIN THIS increases in our social media following was our surpassing, in Museum as it celebrated its 125th anniversary and to reflect May 2013, one million visitors to our YouTube channel. Thanks back with our Museum family on a remarkable history to the McFadden Family, many important Bronze Age finds that includes more than 300 research expeditions to every from the Museum’s excavations in Kourion, Cyprus, are now inhabited continent in our world. As a new director, it was online, and a lead grant from the Leon Levy Foundation, with Ieven more rewarding though to feel the aptness of our tagline “125 additional support from the Hagop Kevorkian Fund, has enabled Years and Still Exploring” as our curators and researchers took us to launch a fantastic joint project with the British Museum many exciting new and continuing projects into the field spanning to digitize the astonishing finds from Ur, Iraq, excavated by Sir multiple time periods and geographic areas throughout the year Leonard Woolley in a joint expedition in the 1920s and 1930s. and especially over the summer. Behind all of this intense activity, 2012–2013 was, as Equally thrilling was the advancement of the Museum’s Mike Kowalski noted, a period of reflection, evaluation, and central role at Penn in training new generations of archaeologists planning for the future. As we contemplated the four central and fostering teaching with collections, as students took classes pillars that drive everything we do—excellence in research, in our Ceramics Lab and participated in many of the above field teaching, collections stewardship, and public engagement—we projects; faculty took advantage of our new online collections were committed to distilling them into a succinct new mission database and Collections Study Room to identify and utilize statement that could become a “North Star” for all of our objects that brought incomparable hands-on experience to their future initiatives. I am sure those of you who love museums and classes; and a joint Museum/School of Arts and Sciences faculty view them as essential places of lifelong learning have visited and staff committee created the framework for a new Center for a particular museum, maybe as a child, and seen or heard the Analysis of Archaeological Materials. something that transformed the way you perceived the world 2012–2013 was also a year that saw amazing programming and, perhaps, your place in it. At its core, moments like this and exhibitions. The remarkable Roman mosaic from Lod, should be the goal of everything that a museum does. And to this on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority and presented end, our new mission statement is: The Penn Museum transforms through the generosity of our Women’s Committee and a understanding of the human experience. number of others, attracted around 50% more visitors than During the coming year, with our new mission as a guide, the same period the previous year and gave us a wonderful we will be working on the full implementation of the teaching chance to open a window to the Classical World through a wide center to train the next generation of archaeologists at Penn, as variety of programs.