PHILADELPHIA- Richard M. Leventhal, an internationally recognized scholar in Mesoamerican studies, has been named the Williams Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Penn President Judith Rodin and Penn Provost Robert Barchi announced today.  

"I am delighted that Richard will be joining us," said Rodin.  "His proven leadership and bold vision for the future will help strengthen the Museum's three-fold mission of education, research and the preservation of cultural artifacts from around the world."

Currently, Leventhal is president and chief executive officer of the School of American Research, SAR, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Before coming to SAR in 2001, he served as director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, where he was associate professor of anthropology from 1993 to 2001.  Leventhal graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in anthropology from Harvard University.  He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology at Harvard in 1979.

Leventhal has directed many excavations and research projects focused on the civilization and culture of the ancient Maya.  He has written numerous monographs, books, reports and articles.  His most recent publication is "Archaeology in the Mediterranean: The Present State and Future Scope of a Discipline," which he co-edited with John Papadoupoulos.

Leventhal has consulted or curated at the National Museum of Belize, the Boston Museum of Science and the Peabody Museum and Fogg Museum at Harvard.

"Richard emerged as the most qualified candidate to lead the Penn Museum, one of the top anthropological and archaeological museums in the country," said Barchi. "His emphasis on the use of technology and the Internet as outreach tools will help the Penn Museum reach new audiences in the scholarly community and the general public."  

In his new position, Leventhal succeeds Jeremy A. Sabloff, who announced his intention to step down from the directorship at the completion of ten years of service June 30. Under his leadership, the Penn Museum raised $65 million, including $17 million to build the Mainwaring Wing for collections storage and study, a state-of-the-art facility for the maintenance of at-risk artifacts and for enhanced scholarly study.

During Sabloff's tenure, the Penn Museum's budget nearly doubled, from $8.2 million in 1995 to nearly $16 million in 2003, while non-curatorial staff increased substantially.  The Museum's endowment has grown from just under $35 million in 1996 to more than $52 million in 2003.

Founded in 1887, the Penn Museum has sent more than 400 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world.  With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind's collective heritage.