PRINCETON, NJ – The Trustees of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, together with the Board of Overseers of the Gennadius Library, announced the Annual Gala of the American School, will be held on May 7 at the magnificent Gotham Hall in New York City. The event will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gennadius Library and honor its enduring legacy, while recognizing acclaimed archaeologist and scholar Jack L. Davis with the 2026 Athens Prize.
This year’s Gala marks the centennial of the Gennadius Library, celebrating a century of scholarship, discovery, and steadfast commitment to the humanities. From its founding vision to its continued global impact, the Library has stood as a beacon for scholars and a guardian of Greece’s cultural and intellectual heritage.
Today, it is a world-class research center with more than 150,000 volumes, rare manuscripts, maps, archives, works of art, and historical objects, offering deep insight into Greece’s cultural and intellectual legacy. A vibrant hub of scholarship and public engagement, the Gennadius hosts academic programs, lectures, concerts, and exhibitions, and extends its reach worldwide through traveling exhibitions and cultural programs.
The evening will culminate in the presentation of the prestigious Athens Prize, the highest honor of the American School, recognizing the extraordinary achievements of renowned archaeologist and scholar Jack L. Davis.
The Athens Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge of ancient Greece. Past recipients include John McK. Camp II (2016), Malcolm H. Wiener (2017), Ronald S. Stroud (2018), the Corinth Excavations (2019), Edward E. Cohen (2022), and Mary R. Lefkowitz (2024).
William T. Loomis, President of the Board of Trustees, in making this announcement, said, “We are delighted to bestow the Athens Prize on Jack Davis. Not only has he been at the forefront of Aegean archaeology for the past 50 years, as a wide-ranging field archaeologist, prolific scholar, and mentor to numerous students, but he also has made significant contributions to the American School, serving as Director, Trustee, Overseer, and supporter of the Archives, Gennadius Library, and Wiener Laboratory. We also wish to recognize the crucial contributions of his wife, Sharon R. Stocker, with whom he co directed excavations in Albania and at Pylos.”
Jack L. Davis is the Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology in the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati. A leading figure in Aegean archaeology, he received the Archaeological Institute of America’s Gold Medal in 2020 for his groundbreaking work in regional studies and his profound impact on the understanding of Greek history from prehistoric times to the present. After earning his PhD from Cincinnati in 1977, Davis co-directed a major survey project on Kea, helping to establish the Cyclades as a central crossroads in Aegean history.
He later co-directed the Nemea Valley and Pylos Regional Archaeological Projects, placing key Bronze Age sites in broader historical contexts. After fieldwork in Albania in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Davis and Stocker returned to Pylos, launching new excavations in and around the Bronze Age palace. Their discoveries, including the spectacular grave of the Griffin Warrior, are reshaping our understanding of ancient Greece. In 2021, the President of Greece honored them with the Commander of the Order of the Phoenix.
As Director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens from 2007 to 2012, during a time of global economic crisis, Davis provided steady leadership and encouragement to both staff and students.
He supported expanded programming at the Gennadius Library and actively promoted scholarly engagement with the School’s Archives, helping to broaden awareness of Greece’s more recent past.
As part of the highly anticipated Gala Week, please join us on Wednesday, May 6, at 6:00 PM at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY—the eve of the Gala—for the Thalia Potamianos Lecture Series, featuring internationally renowned scholar Katherine E. Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust and Alexander S. Onassis Professor of Hellenic Culture and Civilization in the Department of History at New York University.
Fleming will present To Die Like a True Greek: Greeks and Jews Since World War II, the second installment of her three-part series, These Two Points of Influence: Judaism, Hellenism, and Modern Greece. Hosted by the American School’s Gennadius Library, the series explores the long and often complex relationship between Greek and Jewish traditions within the broader sweep of Greek history, culminating in a modern Greek nation-state that has largely overlooked its Jewish past, a past that predates the Christian presence in Greece. This lecture follows the first talk at the Getty Villa, which received wide acclaim. The third and final lecture will take place in October in Athens.
More information about the American School Gala on Thursday, May 7, 6:30 PM, in New York City, is available online: https://www.gala.ascsa.org
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