In Athens, the Annual Open Meeting of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens took place on Friday, 14 March 2008 at 7.00 p.m. in Cotsen Hall.  The Director, Professor Jack L. Davis reported on the archaeological work of the School in 2007, as well as cultural and educational activities of the various departments of the School. Special presentations were made by representatives of three generations of scholars now involved in research at Corinth, the oldest archaeological project sponsored by the School and location of its field school for graduate students.  Guy Sanders, the Director of the Corinth Excavations, described the results of his work in the Panayia Field; Ioulia Tzonou, Curator of the Corinth Excavations spoke about her research at the prehistoric site of Korakou, near Corinth; and Sarah James, a graduate student at the University of Texas, presented a summary of her studies of Hellenistic pottery from excavations in the Panayia Field. The Open Meeting was attended by some 400 persons. The Greek Government was represented by its Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Petros Doukas, who offering a short greeting to the School; the Mayor of Athens was represented by his Vice Mayor, Mr. A. Skiadas; and Mr. A.I. Thomas Countryman, DCM of the U.S. Embassy represented the U.S. Ambassador.  The meeting was followed by a reception which took place in Loring Hall.

For the first time in the School’s history, the Annual Open Meeting of the School was also presented in Thessaloniki, on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7.00 p.m. The Meeting was held in the Old Ceremonial Hall of the Aristotle University, and was sponsored by the Department of Archaeology of the Aristotle University. Some 150 attended the meeting and a subsequent reception.  The Rector of the University, the Director of the Department of Archaeology, Semeli Pinyiatoglou, and the Deputy President of the School of History and Archaeology, Stella Drogou, all offered brief remarks. The U.S. Consul General, Hoyt Brian Yee, was also in attendance.

A recording of the Open Meeting in Athens can be downloaded at:
http://apollo9.ascsa.edu.gr/media/Open_meeting/
(Note: this file is large, approximately 400 MB)