The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) has selected the Center’s Jodi Magness as the 2025 recipient of the Martha and Artemis Joukowsky Distinguished Service Award. The Joukowsky Award is bestowed upon AIA members who, through their sustained and exceptional volunteer efforts, have furthered the work of the Institute and increased public awareness regarding its mission.
Jodi Magness is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2002, she has been the Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been active with the Center since its founding, teaches several JWST courses, advises graduate students working in a subfield of Jewish studies and has led undergraduate enrichment experiences in Israel.
Magness’ research interests, which focus on Palestine in the Roman, Byzantine, and early Islamic periods, and Diaspora Judaism in the Roman world, include ancient pottery, ancient synagogues, Jerusalem, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Roman army in the East. Her most recent books are Jerusalem Through the Ages: From Its Beginnings to the Crusades (New York: Oxford University, March 2024); and Ancient Synagogues in Palestine: A Reevaluation Nearly a Century After Sukenik’s Schweich Lectures. The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy 2022 (London: The British Academy/Oxford University Press, June 2024).
The AIA promotes archaeological inquiry and public understanding of the material record of the human past to foster an appreciation of diverse cultures and our shared humanity. The AIA supports archaeologists, their research and its dissemination, and the ethical practice of archaeology. The AIA educates people of all ages about the significance of archaeological discovery and advocates for the preservation of the world’s archaeological heritage.