On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens received the Medal of Honor for Achievement in Archaeology from the National Arts Club (NAC). The ceremony took place at the historic Tilden Mansion, home of the NAC, at 15 Gramercy Park South in New York City. Accepting the award was Alexander E. Zagoreos, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the American School.

The evening event was organized by Michele Kidwell Gilbert, Chair of the NAC’s Archaeology Committee. The ceremony featured presentations by Professor John McK. Camp and Professor Mary R. Lefkowitz, esteemed members of the American School's Board of Trustees and distinguished authorities in their respective fields. The program also included a performance of “The Mediterranean,” composed by Stephen F. Pekar and Isadora Duncan “Tanagra Figures,” staged by Lori Belilove.

About the American School of Classical Studies at Athens

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is the leading American research and teaching institution in Greece dedicated to the advanced study of all aspects of Greek culture from prehistory to the present. Founded in 1881 as the first American overseas research center, the School is a consortium of nearly 200 universities, colleges, and institutions in the United States and Canada, centered in Athens with an administrative base in Princeton, NJ. Today the School is the largest of the 18 foreign research institutes in Greece and the only one that provides a regular program of instruction for advanced students.

Its facilities, programs, and resources include excavations in the Athenian Agora and Ancient Corinth, two distinguished libraries, a laboratory for archaeological sciences, and an award-winning publications program. The School offers students and scholars wide-ranging opportunities to engage in research initiatives centered on Greek history and culture. In addition, the School fosters a dynamic environment through exhibitions, lectures, and concerts that encourage the exchange of knowledge and promote interaction across many audiences. As its founders envisioned, the School remains a primarily privately funded, nonprofit educational and cultural institution.

About the National Arts Club

Founded in 1898, the National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts. Annually, the Club offers more than 150 free programs—both in-person and virtually—to the public, including exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, lectures, and readings, attracting an audience of over 30,000 in-person visitors and thousands more online. The NAC is also a proud community partner, serving the public through fellowships, concert series, youth education programs, and more.