Jeremy A. Sabloff C’64, Williams Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, has announced that he will be stepping down from the directorship on June 30, 2004. Sabloff will have completed 10 years of service as head of one of the world’s great archaeology and anthropology museums. Deputy Provost and Andrea Mitchell Professor of English Peter Conn chairs the search committee.

Sabloff, who discovered archaeology as an undergraduate at Penn and has a Ph.D. from Harvard, is an internationally recognized expert on the ancient Maya.

Even a casual observer walking on the 3200 block of South Street couldn’t help but notice that big changes have been underway at the Museum. In 2002, the Museum opened the new Mainwaring Wing for collections storage and study, re-designed its entrance and is now undertaking a gallery-wide air-conditioning project as part of its $55 million Campaign for the 21st Century.

Inside, Sabloff has overseen expansion of the Museum’s traveling exhibitions program, new research projects around the world and long-term gallery renovations begun spectacularly with the new Etruscan, Greek and Roman galleries that opened last spring.

Penn’s new strategic plan, “Building on Excellence,” includes a strong focus on Penn’s many outstanding cultural institutions, including the Museum.

“Among the most important goals [for the Museum],” said Conn, “are becoming more academically integrated with the University, making the Museum’s important collections and scholarship more visible to the public…completing its extensive renovation project and strengthening its financial base to make these key advances possible. The next Museum leader will have to build on the progress that has already been made.”