The Malcolm H. Wiener Foundation contributed a grant to the Phaleron Bioarchaeological Project that will allow study, conservation, and forensic analysis of the remains from the cemetery at Phaleron (the old port of Athens) to continue uninterrupted. The cemetery—excavated by Stella Chrysoulaki, Ephor of Piraeus and Western Attica—dates to the late 8th to early 5th century B.C. and revealed over 1500 burials. The School’s Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science was granted permission to study the remains, a project directed by Jane Buikstra (Arizona State University). Wiener hopes that “the study of the Phaleron cemetery burials will shed enormous light on how people lived, worked, fought, traveled, and died in Athens between 750 and 350 B.C.” 

Charles Yoder gave a gift for a project that will expand the library of videos about the School, and widen the audience that will view them. Currently, there are seven professionally-produced, beautifully-filmed, HD-quality videos that tell different aspects of the American School’s story. Each focuses on a personality, program, or facility that has made the School the exceptional research and teaching institution it is today, and embodies the mission that will carry it into the future. The School plans to create several more videos, as well as to expand the “Conversations with the American School” lecture series. The series was established in 2015 to present topics, themes, and people at the heart of the School’s mission in select cities throughout the U.S.—and remains an ideal arena in which to showcase the videos. Yoder’s gift supports the School’s strategic communications efforts and demonstrates his commitment to increasing awareness of the School. 

Kathryn and Peter Yatrakis’s donation to the Gennadius Library establishes the Kathryn and Peter Yatrakis Processing Suite, a beautifully upgraded space in which all of the items donated to the library can be considered and properly integrated into its system. This gift will allow newly discovered gems of books, personal papers, and archival material from modern Greece’s rich history to be officially added to the Gennadius’s 120,000-volume collection. Kathryn Yatrakis, whose passion for the School is reflected not only through this contribution, but in her work as an Overseer of the Gennadius Library, also made provisions to offset costs associated with the Makriyannis Wing, and to help endow future maintenance.