Riverside, Calif., December, 2001 -- Lawrence T. Geraty, La Sierra University president and professor of archaeology, and long-time senior director of archaeological excavations in the Holy Land, was elected President of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) at a meeting of its Board of Trustees on November 16, 2001.

Photo by Warren Trenchard and Larry Herr

Institutional administrators and directors just outside the four-room house at Tell al `Umayri, an archaeology dig in Jordan. Geraty, third from left, is director of the Madaba Plains Project.

Walter Rast, PhD, professor of theology at Valparaiso University, in Indiana, was chair of the ASOR search committee. He says, "The Committee and the Board of Trustees of ASOR are extremely pleased that Larry Geraty will be the next president of ASOR. We feel he is eminently suited for taking the presidency at just this time. There are many new challenges and opportunities in light of the unsettled nature of the area. Archaeology continues to be a challenging area and will be in the future. As president, Larry also will oversee our relationships with the institutes in Jerusalem, Amman, and Nicosia, as well as contacts with other professional organizations concerned with archaeology of the Middle East. The Board and search committee felt that Larry’s considerable experience as the director of a major archaeological expedition in Jordan, as well as his experience as a university president, are qualities that recommend him highly for this position. We think Larry’s personality and his experiences with people qualify him for a great public role for ASOR."

William Dever, PhD, professor of Near Eastern archaeology and anthropology at the University of Arizona, and considered to be the country's leading biblical archaeologist, remarks: "Larry Geraty is to be congratulated. He's a highly respected person of great integrity. He comes at a difficult time, when a great deal of fundraising needs to be done, but he brings a broad base of support in archaeology, academics, and administration. He's a good scholar and a good leader. His asset is that he's non-controversial and diplomatic in a highly controversial field."

"This was not a position I sought, but it is not something I could turn down when approached. It is obviously an honor to be chosen by your peers in your discipline, to lead their premier professional organization–one that was at one time led by my Harvard graduate school mentor, G. Ernest Wright. It will be a challenge, but I hope I have some experience and skills that will benefit the organization," says Geraty.

Geraty’s election was unanimous, and his term, to begin July 1, 2002, is for three years, renewable once. His administrative duties and traveling for the organization will average about 25 percent of his time. Some of his onsite university work will be shifted to Provost Ella S. Simmons, EdD, while Geraty continues his administrative and ambassadorial responsibilities for La Sierra University.

La Sierra’s Board of Trustees approved the election beforehand, noting that Geraty’s new role would add prestige to the University’s reputation as a research institution.

Commenting on the election, Herman Bauman, president of the Arizona Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and a La Sierra trustee, says, "Over several decades, I’ve known Larry to be a brilliant scholar and outstanding administrator. He’s an individual who has my great admiration. In the area of archaeology, there is no one who is more qualified or more highly respected by his peers. I know he will be of tremendous value–a great asset to ASOR. He’ll lead them to even greater heights."

Thomas Mostert, president of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and chair of La Sierra’s Board of Trustees, remarks: "This is an unprecedented honor for an Adventist scholar, and we are pleased that our president is recognized in this way. Since the Bible is the heart of our faith, anything that can be done to authenticate its message is important to us. Archaeology has done that through the years."

ASOR's membership comprises approximately 400 institutional members, as well as 1200 archaeologists and other interested professionals from North America, Europe, the Far East, Australia, and the Middle East. It has three research/study centers located in the Middle East (Jerusalem, Amman, and Nicosia). ASOR publishes four journals and several series of books, conducts a large annual meeting, and accredits North American excavations in the Holy Land. The organization celebrated its 100^th anniversary last year.

Geraty is a citizen of the world, having grown up as part of a missionary family. He received a rich educational experience by attending schools in seven countries and four American states. He earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible and biblical archaeology, with distinction, from Harvard University. These experiences set him on a lifelong course committed to the values of diversity. Dr. Geraty is a scholar, professor, pastor, world-renowned archaeologist, museum curator, university president, and community leader. Since July 1993, Geraty has served as president and professor of archaeology at La Sierra University, where he is also active in many community organizations, serving on boards and committees. Geraty has received numerous honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship and serving as advisor on archaeology to former Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan. He has lectured world wide and contributed to numerous publications. One of Dr. Geraty's most impressive accomplishments has been his ability to remain active as an archaeologist and churchman while continuing to lead a university which combines the religious values of a faith community, the educational ideals of a liberal arts college, and the research opportunities of a comprehensive university.

Adventist archaeologists take leading roles in professional organizations

Adventist archaeologists now fill over half of the executive positions, including its presidency, in ASOR, the largest international organization of North American archaeologists working in the Middle East. Geraty's election to the top executive position brings the total of Adventist scholars on ASOR's executive committee to four. Larry G. Herr of Canadian University College was elected Chair of the Committee on Publications, which oversees the production of ASOR's journals and books.

Geraty and Herr joined Douglas R. Clark of Walla Walla College, who had already been elected two years previously as Chair of the Committee for Annual Meetings and Programs, which runs all aspects of the major annual meeting. Randall W. Younker of Andrews University has been Chair of the Nominations Committee for several years. Adventists thus chair four of the five top-level committees in the organization. Øystein LaBianca of Andrews University was re-elected to the Board of Trustees. He and Geraty have also been past members of the Committee on Archaeological Policy. Michael Hasel of Southern Adventist University was elected to the Agenda Committee.

This recognition of Adventist contributions to Middle Eastern archaeology is all the more spectacular considering the fact that Adventists make up only approximately 1.5% of the total membership. Other Adventist archaeologists also serve the organization.

In another organization of evangelical Christian archaeologists and interested scholars, called the Near Eastern Archaeological Society, numbering about 300 members, two other Adventists were elected to significant positions. David Merling of Andrews University was elected President and Paul Ray of Andrews University was elected editor of the society's journal, the NEAS Bulletin.

This remarkable success of Adventist archaeologists is largely due to the admiration their colleagues around the world feel for the Adventist archaeological project in the Holy Land. Called the Madaba Plains Project, it presently encompasses three major excavations that trace their roots back to the Andrews University Heshbon Expedition first led by the late Seigfried Horn in the 1960s and 1970s and then followed by Geraty, who initiated the Madaba Plains Project. Horn's insistence on excellence and uncompromising integrity ignited his students with the determination to follow in his footsteps. Although Horn often lamented the fact that his colleagues in archaeology sometimes doubted his intentions because of his Adventism, Horn's students and followers obviously no longer suffer under similar problems!

Says colleague Dr. Randall Younker of Andrews University, "Our friends and colleagues have been nominated by peers on the basis of their excellent contributions to ASOR; indeed, Larry Geraty was selected by a special search committee of the Board of Trustees. This is a great honor and we are very proud that Larry has been so recognized by his colleagues!"

In 2000, Geraty was saluted by ASOR for his outstanding career as a builder of archaeologists and archaeological teams, as a promoter of cutting-edge research among his students and colleagues, and as a statesman in representing the interests of ASOR archaeologists to the broader public, with the presentation of the Centennial Year P.E. MacAllister Field Archaeology Award.

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by Christy Robinson and Larry Herr