UPDATED LETTER ON ASOR’S RESPONSES TO COVID-19
UPDATED LETTER ON ASOR’S RESPONSES TO COVID-19April 7, 2020
Dear Fellow ASOR Members,
The ASOR family is a strong and close one, and that fact has never been more evident than in these challenging and stressful times. Due to the rapidly-changing situation with the COVID-19 crisis, we plan to update this letter at least bi-monthly.
Please know that we at ASOR are doing all that we can to continue serving our constituents, while keeping the safety and health of our members, volunteers, officers, and employees as our highest priority.
First, we want to share (and in some cases repeat) the things that we are doing to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible:
- Health and Safety of ASOR members and staff—As far as we know, no ASOR members or staff have experienced a COVID-19 illness. If you are aware of anyone who has experienced an illness and if ASOR might provide assistance, please e-mail Andy Vaughn.
- The ASOR Office—The James F. Strange Center—in Old Town Alexandria, is operating on remote-only work schedule. The staff is staying in touch with frequent messaging and video conferencing. No layoffs have occurred, and we have applied for a SBA Paycheck Protection Program Loan that was made available through the CARES Act. We anticipate that much of this loan will be forgiven and become similar to a “grant.” Our dedicated staff has been, and continues to be, outstanding.
- Physical Mail Delivery—ASOR’s ability to receive and to process physical mail has been greatly reduced. Please consider making membership payments and gifts via our secure online store. Please e-mail info@asor.org if you have questions or need help. You may also send us a phone number by e-mail if you would like us to call you to make a credit card payment over the phone (please do not send credit card information by e-mail).
- The ASOR Board Meeting (rescheduled for mid-May) will be held as a virtual video meeting. ASOR continues to test our new Zoom subscription, and we are using this platform more and more to carry out essential business.
- Dig Scholarships, Excavation Grants, and Research Fellowships—We have postponed making decisions until at least April 15th. As of the date of this letter, it looks like dig scholarships will be postponed until 2021. We anticipate making a decision on excavation grants and research fellowships later in April or early May. We will segregate endowment distributions and gifts already received for awards in 2021, if necessary. 2020 had been our largest year ever for scholarships, grants, and fellowships, and we are so grateful to all of our supporters. If awards are not made in 2020, the segregated funds will enable a 50% increase in funding over 2019 levels for 2021.
Second, we want to share some of the things that we are doing to support you, our members, while many are practicing social distancing or self-quarantining:
- Membership Scholarships Available—If you have experienced a financial challenge because of the COVID-19 crisis (or if you know of an ASOR member who has a need), please ask about a membership scholarship. Some generous members of the ASOR family have pledged funds to pay for membership dues of anyone that has lost employment or substantial income because of this crisis. Please contact Felice Herman or Andy Vaughn for more information.
- Online Resources—The ASOR office staff (led by Marta Ostovich [programs@asor.org]) has launched webpages to share resources that will support students, professors, and teachers at all levels who are participating in online education with little advance notice. These pages are expanding daily, and we invite you to participate so that we can help each other by sharing ideas and expertise.
- Online access to ASOR journals—The full-text and enhanced online access to ASOR journals have never been more important. Members with online access to journals can not only view the full text of articles, but all illustrations and figures may be downloaded seamlessly into Powerpoint. Click here for a web-page that outlines all of these features. Please e-mail Felice Herman (membership@asor.org) if you have questions.
- Publications—Thanks to the excellent work of our editorial teams, the ASOR staff, and our partnerships with University of Chicago Press and with ISD, the production and distribution of ASOR journals and books continue without interruption. Everyone is working remotely as much as possible, and we do not anticipate any interruptions in fulfilling this vital member service.
- Annual Meeting—We continue to prepare for our largest and best Annual Meeting in Boston in November. The Program Committee and ASOR staff are working remotely to ensure that the program will be the strongest ever. We, of course, will keep the health of all participants as our highest priority.
- General Operations—The ASOR staff and our volunteers continue to respond to e-mails and phone calls. With our staff working remotely, answering phones and voicemail may be delayed. Please consider sending an e-mail if you are able.
- Shepard Urgent Action Grants—In the midst of so many things being postponed, we are thrilled to announce a new initiative that we hope can take place in spite of social distancing and self-quarantining efforts. Launched on April 2, 2020, these new grants are designed to address urgent needs for site mitigation and stabilization. Funding may be available in as little as 4-6 weeks following an application. Please check out the webpage and announcement.
Third, we need to share some challenges. We will continue to update you on these items. If you are aware of other issues that we should communicate in subsequent member correspondence, please let us know.
- The programs at our Overseas Research Centers in Amman, Jerusalem, and Nicosia are suffering from travel restrictions and cutbacks in fieldwork. Significant portions of their income derive from visits to and work on ASOR field projects and other research, for which they provide essential support and services. These projects for 2020 are being cancelled for the most part. We have been in touch with all the directors. They are coping effectively with the changing circumstances. The Albright in Jerusalem has been particularly hit hard.
- ASOR’s Endowment Accounts—Like many institutions, ASOR has invested our endowment accounts using an 80/20 allocation—80% in equities and 20% in bonds and cash. We have thus experienced a significant correction over the first quarter of 2020, and most of our endowments accounts are down 12.1% for the fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). Because we maintain a 20% allocation in bonds and cash, we will re-balance our portfolios this month (April 2020) per our investment guidelines. We also make quarterly distributions based on averages from the last 12 quarters, so we will continue to be conservative in distributing funds from endowments. In addition, the Finance Committee is considering a recommendation to forego distributions for the 1st quarter of 2020 in order to allow our accounts to recover some of their market losses.
- ASOR’s Annual Fund (unrestricted giving)—While ASOR remains in sound financial shape, while we have applied for a Paycheck Protection Program Loan, and while we have modest accumulated funds to see us through a challenging year, we need members to consider unrestricted contributions and gifts for member scholarships. To date in this fiscal year (ends June 30, 2020), we have received less than half of the $125,000 that we budgeted for unrestricted giving. Click here to make a gift online.
Finally, we want to conclude as we began—your health and well-being is our highest concern. We are grateful for your continued support of ASOR and of your fellow members. You are, and continue to be, amazing.
Best regards,
Sharon Herbert, ASOR President (president@asor.org)
Andy Vaughn, ASOR Executive Director (executive-director@asor.org)
