AT ATHENS AT Founded 1881 WINTER 2019 Director of the Gennadius Library Maria Georgopoulou, U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, Director of the School Jenifer Neils, and major benefactor Deno Macricostas cut the ribbon at the opening of the Ioannis Makriyannis Wing. Photo: H. AkriviadesPhoto: IN THIS ISSUE Philanthropy in Library Collections NEH Renews Makriyannis Wing 3 Motion 4 Modernized 5 Fellowships 6 Opens Agora Volunteers Corinth Outreach Gala in Review Donor Spotlight: 8 Reflect 9 Program 10 11 The Popielskis Q&A: Karkanas, Camp Corinth Site Guide Student Trips 12 Dylan Rogers 14 Honored 16 Released 17 Inspire Poetry 2 WINTER 2019 Jenifer Neils, Director of the School Banner Year for the American School Founded 1881 I am pleased to report that 2018 has been a from the Phaleron cemetery are being conserved banner year for the American School on many in the Wiener Laboratory. And, last but not least, Board of Trustees fronts. Just to cite a few record numbers, a total over 400 guests attended the opening of the of 736 square meters were renovated for the Gennadius Library’s new Makriyannis Wing, with Alexander E. Zagoreos, Chairman William T. Loomis, President consolidated Archives’s new home, designed and its inaugural exhibition of our complete set of Constantine M. Dakolias, Treasurer overseen by Doreen Canaday Spitzer Archivist paintings of the Greek War of Independence. At Jacqueline C. McCabe, Secretary Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan, in the East Wing of the this festive celebration, the U.S. Ambassador to Gennadius Library. Some 681 coins were found the Hellenic Republic Geoffrey Pyatt remarked, Stathis Andris Joan Bingham in the excavations at Ancient Corinth under “With the continued investment of the American Jane E. Buikstra the new director, Christopher Pfaff. A group School of Classical Studies in the cultural and R. Nicholas Burns of 73 student diggers toiled for eight hot, and academic life of Greece, I am confident that the Jonathan Z. Cohen Henry P. Davis surprisingly wet, weeks in the Agora, uncovering School will remain a living monument to the Jack L. Davis evidence for an important hero shrine about long-standing cultural and educational ties that Robert J. Desnick which Director John Camp will be lecturing bind our two countries.” Paul D. Friedland Elizabeth R. Gebhard at the School this coming spring. A record 223 Our bond has never been stronger as we Andrew S. Georges outreach programs to date were conducted live begin 2019 continuing to excavate, conserve, Mark L. Lawall*** from Greece by “Museum Katie” Petrole, our first research, publish, digitize, and exhibit the rich Mary R. Lefkowitz Steinmentz Family Foundation Museum Fellow. history and culture of Greece from antiquity to J. Robert Maguire Arianna Packard Martell A total of 1,100 human skeletons and 6 horses the present—in ways never dreamed of in 1881. Theo Melas-Kyriazi Nassos Michas Sebastien Missoffe William A. Slaughter George Orfanakos, Executive Director Phaedon T. Tamvakakis Judith Ogden Thomson Andreas Zombanakis Campaign for New Student Center Emeriti/ae Edward E. Cohen Launches Hunter Lewis* Herbert L. Lucas Robert A. McCabe* A stroll through the American School these days our community. In 2016, the Malcolm H. Marianne McDonald includes all of the hallmarks that make it what it Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science Mary Patterson McPherson James H. Ottaway, Jr.** is: students recounting discoveries from recent was inaugurated, and just this past June, the David W. Packard trips on the terrace over ouzo, professors dis- Ioannis Makriyannis Wing of the Gennadius Hunter R. Rawlings, III cussing new ideas in the Saloni at tea, research- Library opened its doors. These campaigns Malcolm H. Wiener** ers headed to the libraries to take advantage of would not have succeeded without the support *President Emeritus the unparalleled collections, and bioarchaeolo- of our dedicated board, faculty, staff, alumni, **Chairman Emeritus gists emerging from the Wiener Laboratory, and friends. It is their vision and dedication ***Ex Officio having just advanced our scientific knowledge to innovation that has helped transform the of the ancient world a bit further that day. School, its impact, and its potential. What has changed in the last few years, I am pleased to announce that the next though, is the physical appearance of the phase of our capital campaign is the long- campus, thanks to the generous support of continued on p. 5 NEWS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL 3 Philanthropy in Motion Of the many generous contributions we received throughout the year, we wanted to make special mention of three recent and unique philanthropic contributions. The Malcolm H. Wiener Foundation contributed a grant to the Phaleron Bioarchaeological Project that will allow study, conservation, and forensic analysis of the remains from the cemetery at Phaleron (the old port of Athens) to continue uninterrupted. The cemetery— excavated by Stella Chrysoulaki, Ephor of Piraeus and Western Attica—dates to the late 8th to early 5th century B.C. and contains over 1,500 burials. The School’s Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science was granted Conservation work in the M. H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science. The skeletal permission to study the remains, a project material found at Phaleron is currently undergoing study in the new facility. directed by Jane Buikstra (Arizona State University). Wiener hopes that “the study the U.S.—and the lectures are an ideal of the Phaleron cemetery burials will arena in which to showcase the videos. shed enormous light on how people lived, Yoder’s gift supports the School’s strategic worked, fought, traveled, and died in communications efforts and demonstrates Athens between 750 and 350 B.C.” his commitment to increasing awareness Charles Yoder gave a gift for a project of the School. that will expand the library of videos Kathryn and Peter Yatrakis’s dona- about the School, and widen the audience tion to the Gennadius Library establishes that will view them. Currently, there are the Kathryn and Peter Yatrakis Process- six professionally produced, beautifully ing Suite, a beautifully upgraded space filmed, HD-quality videos that tell in which all of the items donated to the different aspects of the American School’s library can be considered and properly in- story. Each focuses on a personality, tegrated into its system. This gift will allow program, or facility that has made the newly discovered gems of books, personal School the exceptional research and papers, and archival material from modern teaching institution it is today, and each Greece’s rich history to be officially added Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis (seen embodies the mission that will carry it to the Gennadius’s 120,000-volume collec- here doing voiceover work while Executive into the future. The School plans to create tion. Kathryn Yatrakis, whose passion for Director George Orfanakos looks on) will be several more videos, as well as to expand the School is reflected not only through narrating the School’s next video on the life of the “Conversations with the American this contribution, but in her work as an pioneering archaeologist Hetty Goldman, slated for release at the School’s Gala on May 9. School” lecture series. The series was Overseer of the Gennadius Library, also established in 2015 to present topics, made provisions to offset costs associated themes, and people at the heart of the with the Makriyannis Wing, and to help School’s mission in select cities throughout endow future maintenance. 4 WINTER 2019 % The Blegen will close from March 4 to June 2019. Please consult the Library’s web page at www.ascsa.edu.gr/research/blegen-library for details and a list of alternative libraries. Library Collections Modernized The Library Reclassification Project is currently integrating, customizing, and modernizing the classification systems of the School’s libraries. Coordinated by Maria Georgopoulou, Director of the Gennadius Library, and implemented in the Blegen Library by Head Librarian Maria Tourna, the project will significantly improve the user experience for thousands of international patrons per year, and will allow the collections to be developed in unprecedented ways. The combined holdings of the libraries, totaling more than 250,000 volumes, are being converted from outdated local classification systems to the more sophisticated Library of Congress (LC) classification system. In conjunction, the books have already been equipped Acting Director of the Gennadius Library Irini Solomonidi and Blegen Head Librarian Maria with radio-frequency identification (RFID) Tourna discuss the reclassification project in the newly combined stacks. tags for faster searches and checkout, greater security, and advanced statistical disciplines, the Library of Congress system a user searching for a specific book, while analysis. Remote reclassification of will allow the collections to grow in ways maintaining a wider perspective for the call numbers is currently underway, that reflect trends in current scholarship specialties and character of the collection. after which the physical shifting of the and that take advantage of the most recent While the first phases of the project collections will require the libraries to advancements in library science. have caused no interruption to workflow, close; the Blegen will close from March 4 to Because there will be standardized the libraries are committed to limiting June 2019, while the Gennadius will close schemes to follow, new users will no longer the remaining process’s impact as much from the time of the Blegen’s reopening need to be initiated to the idiosyncrasies of as possible. A six-month closure will until August 2019. the old classification systems, and librar- ensure the clean and timely redistribution The opportunity to make this ians will be able to devote less time to of volumes on the shelves, and a more long-discussed change presented itself classifying and more time to building and spacious configuration of study areas.