In its long history, Rhode Island Hall has housed a hodgepodge of departments, from Natural Philosophy and Mineralogy.
Now, the Artemis A.W. and Martha Sharp Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World can be added to the roster after a warm and genial rededication ceremony last Friday evening.
University Chancellor Thomas Tisch '76 opened the event under a packed tent in front of the building — the fourth oldest on the Main Green. Other speakers included President Ruth Simmons, Chancellor Emeritus Artemis Joukowsky '55 P'87, Joukowsky Institute Director and Professor of Classics Susan Alcock, Professor of Archaeology, Classics and Art History at Boston University James Wiseman and Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Jordanian ambassador to the United States.
The speakers alternated between praising the necessity and importance of archeology and honoring the Joukowskys' contributions to the field.
Alcock said archaeology requires establishing global connections, and that the field required a balance of "enormous exuberance matched with enormous responsibility." Wiseman also spoke about the relationships — between archaeology and departments like anthropology, biological sciences and others — while archaeology itself continues to unify into a cohesive pursuit.
Al-Hussein lauded the Joukowskys' role in the preservation of Petra, one of Jordan's most important archeological site.
In a short and appreciative speech, Joukowsky took the stage to testify to the "astonishing power of education" in the discipline.
Midway through the ceremony, four television screens showed a short profile of the Joukowsky Institute and the renovations of Rhode Island Hall. The video included the Joukowskys and Alcock, as well as other archaeology professors and students.
Simmons closed the ceremony, but instead of giving a speech, she invited the Joukowskys and their children to the stage. The children toasted their parents, and Simmons thanked the Joukowskys for their contributions to Brown.
"You have done so much for this university," Simmons said. "You are an inspiration to everybody here. You're an inspiration to me."
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