ACOR's lineage spans back to the foundation of the American School of Oriental Research in 1900, supporting the study of the MENA region. As the region changed during the mid-20th century, the foundation of a permanent research center for Americans working or studying in the Arab World needed, and in 1968 ACOR itself was created as "The American Research Center in Amman." It was first directed by Rudolph H. Dornemann, followed by Murray B. Nicol. It became "The American Center of Oriental Research" in 1970. One of ACOR's first projects was excavating a Byzantine church in Swafiyeh, Amman, by the director and annual professor Bastiaan Van Elderen in partnership with Jordan's Department of Antiquities, also serving as a training course for students attending the University of Jordan. From June 7–13, 1970, Van Elderen and various residents barricaded themselves in the ACOR residence during fighting between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian army. Murray Nicol was appointed new director in 1970 but was prevented from serving by the second phase of the war in Jordan, so Siegfried H. Horn replaced him at the urging of the U.S. Embassy in Amman, followed by Henry O. Thompson. In 1975 George Mendenhall was director, followed by James A. Sauer from 1976-1981. In 1976 the building was remodeled, adding hostel accommodation for eight people and a 1,800-book library. In 1980 ACOR began partnership with the United States Agency for International Development and was awarded a contract to write a five-year plan for archaeological development. In 1982 David McCreery became director, and ACOR began to grant fellowships. ACOR moved to a purpose-built building in 1986, with partial funding from USAID's office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad and a ribbon-cutting ceremony by H.R.H. Prince Mohammed Bin Talal. In 1988 Bert de Vries took over as director, succeeded by Pierre Bikai in 1991, Barbara A. Porter in 2006, and Pearce Paul Creasman in 2020. Several longterm staff included cook Mohammed Adawi, born around in the Palestinian village of Zakariyya, who served as such for the duration of ACOR's existence and Librarian Carmen Ayoubi, who managed the library from 1988 to 2020. As a member of ASOR, it has a strict policy of non-involvement in politics and follows their code of archaeological ethics.
In 2016, ACOR began a four-year project to digitize and preserve photographs of Jordan and surrounding areas. Photographs from six different private collections are part of the project donated by George Bass, Linda Jacobs, Rami Khouri, Robert Schick, Jane Taylor, and Charles Wilson. This project is available online at https://acor.digitalrelab.com/.
ACOR Fellowships
ACOR presents fellowships to students from Jordan, The United States, and other countries. They include: the NEH Fellowship, the ACOR-CAORC Post Graduate Fellowship, the ACOR-CAORC Pre-Doctorate Fellowship, the Jennifer C. Groot Memorial Fellowship, the Bert and Sally de Vries Fellowship, the Harrell Family Fellowship, the Pierre and Patricia Bikai Fellowship, the Burton MacDonald and Rosemarie Sampson Fellowship, the Kenneth W. Russell Fellowship, the James A. Sauer Fellowship, the Frederick-Wenger Memorial Endowment, the Jordanian Graduate Student Scholarship and the Jordanian Travel Scholarship for ASOR Annual Meeting. Scholars can also apply to the CAORC Multi-Country Fellowship Program and the Andrew. W. Mellon Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship Program.
