As mentioned in the earlier “Call to Action on ASOR’s Name,” ASOR President Sharon Herbert will convene two Virtual Town Hall Meetings to discuss ASOR’s name and the next steps in our process to remove “Oriental.” The two virtual meetings will take place over Zoom Webinar. We have chosen times that will enable members living in different time zones to attend; the discussion sessions will be held at the following dates and times:

In addition to President Herbert, the panelists will include Randy Helm (Trustee and Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on ASOR’s Name [AHC]), Susan Ackerman (Trustee and Past President, 2014-2019), Lisa Ackerman (Trustee and AHC member), Eric H. Cline (AHC Member), Geoff Emberling (Past Program Committee Co-chair), Emily Hammer (AHC member), Carol Meyers (Trustee, Sunday only), and Andy Vaughn (Executive Director).  We plan to have short presentations or statements by some of the panelists, followed by questions from attendees, and conversation between panelists.

As a reminder, the ASOR Board of Trustees voted unanimously on August 19, 2020 to start a process to remove “Oriental” from our organization’s name. Because ASOR is an incorporated non-profit in the District of Columbia, the Board cannot legally change our name without an amendment to ASOR’s Articles of Incorporation. Amending the articles involves several legal steps including a ratification vote by the whole membership.

As we go through the name discernment process, the ASOR Board has taken steps to remove “Oriental” wherever possible. To that end, you may have noticed that “ASOR” replaced the complete name in the most recent issue of Near Eastern Archaeology, and the November issue of BASOR will contain a cover with Bulletin of ASOR rather than the complete name. These are small but important steps until we can complete the legal amendment to the Articles of Incorporation.

Please mark your calendars so that you can attend one of both of the meetings on October 22 and 25.

The following is a copy of the previously posted (Oct. 6) letter from ASOR President Sharon Herbert:

Dear Fellow ASOR Members:

I wrote you all in late August with the exciting news that ASOR’s Board of Trustees had voted to remove the word “Oriental” from ASOR’s name. Now I write with an update and a timeline for the next steps, which will include town halls with the membership and two votes over the next month.

All organizations have moments in their history when a transformative change needs to be made. Recognizing ASOR’s 120-year history of leadership, ASOR’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to remove the word “Oriental” from our name as the first step to ensure that we took a stand against culturally offensive language. Words matter.

The next step requires a ratification of this change and the Board’s recommendation on ASOR’s new name by a majority of the ASOR membership. You will be asked to choose between two ASOR acronyms: the American Schools of Overseas Research or the American Society of Overseas Research. After the choice is made between “society” and “schools,” we will need a final ratification vote by the membership in order to legally amend ASOR’s Articles of Incorporation.

Below is a summary of how the Board arrived at this decision.

The Ad Hoc Committee on the name change (AHC) has been working since January to consider all alternatives, including new acronyms, descriptive language, and a myriad of other options. Their work included two polls of the membership.

After a great deal of discussion and endless hours of trying to find the best answers, AHC recommended that two names be considered: AARCHE, Association for Archaeological Research, Cultural Heritage, and Education and one of two names using the ASOR acronym, either the American Schools of Overseas Research or the American Society of Overseas Research.

After the AHC submitted its final report, the discussion of the full Board in consultation with the AHC focused on whether the new name should retain the ASOR acronym or be completely different, which opened up the opportunity to solve some of the inherent constraints of the ASOR acronym. In AARCHE’s favor were its freshness and the fact that it reflects better the breadth of ASOR’s current work, particularly in cultural heritage. Against it are its somewhat unwieldy length, unfortunate acronym for a renamed BASOR—”BAARCHE”—and its lack of popularity in the July poll of the membership.

With the lack of a membership mandate for AARCHE or any wholesale change in name, the Board turned to the costs of abandoning the ASOR acronym, both tangible and intangible. Our Executive Director estimates that the necessary changes in our now large website presence would cost between $50,000 and $100,000, amounts which do not include a new branding program. Library subscriptions to the renamed “BAARCHE” would undoubtedly drop. The value of the well-known brand would be lost, which our Development Committee believes would have significant adverse effects on fundraising.

In the Board discussion of the AHC recommendations, various members noted that neither of the choices satisfied the desire of 70.3% of the membership in the March poll that the name reflect the geographical scope of ASOR’s work. Accepting that ASOR’s scope will always change and grow, it seemed prudent to keep the name as simple as possible given all that is required legally to change it, but include a yet to be determined geographical tag line below the name as a descriptor.

After lengthy discussion with the AHC, the Board voted 20-3 to put only the two ASOR acronyms, the American Schools of Overseas Research or the American Society of Overseas Research, up for a membership vote.

What’s next? A membership vote on the name change.

As always, you can contact me directly at president@asor.org with questions or concerns. Thank you for helping our organization take this vital step into a brighter future for us all.

Best regards,

Sharon Herbert
ASOR President