Effective September 1, 2016, former Kelsey Museum director Sharon Herbert will become the Charles K. Williams II Distinguished Professor of Classical Archaeology. Established in 1947, the Distinguished University Professorship is the University of Michigan’s most prestigious such award. Recipients of the award traditionally name their professorships after notable scholars in their fields. Charles K. Williams II was the director of the excavations at Corinth in Greece from 1966 until 1997, and he received the Archaeological Institute in America’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement in 1993.

Sharon Herbert joined the faculty of the University of Michigan in 1973, and she has enjoyed a remarkable career as a field archaeologist, teacher, and academic administrator. As a scholar, Professor Herbert is best known for her contributions to the archaeology of Israel, as director of the Tel Anafa excavations from 1978 to 1981, and as co-director of the Tel Kedesh excavations from 1997 to 2012. She has also conducted archaeological fieldwork in Greece, Italy, and Egypt.

As an educator, Professor Herbert has introduced hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students to the disciplines of classical and Near Eastern archaeology both in the classroom and in the field. She played a key role in the development of the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology, serving for nine crucial years as its director (from 1982 to 1991), and she has chaired or co-chaired 20 dissertation committees.

Professor Herbert served as Chair of the Department of Classical Studies from 1995 to 2001, and as director of the Kelsey Museum from 1997 to 2013. The culminating achievement of her 17 years at the helm of the Museum was the construction of Upjohn Exhibition Wing, opened to the public in 2009. Other hallmarks of her directorship included the establishment of a number of new archaeological field projects under Kelsey sponsorship and an innovative series of outreach programs to the local community. Most recently, Professor Herbert played an instrumental role in creating a project funded by the UM Third Century Initiative to bring students from large enrollment classes into the Museum for hands-on workshops with artifacts.

The Distinguished University Professorship is a fitting honor for a scholar, teacher, and leader, still after more than 40 years of service to the University of Michigan in her academic prime.