AWARDEE SPOTLIGHT: RANDY YOUNKER
At the 2019 Â鶹ֱ²¥ Annual Meeting in San Diego, Randall (Randy) Younker was awarded the Â鶹ֱ²¥ Membership Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made special contributions on behalf of the Â鶹ֱ²¥ membership, through committee, editorial, or office services.
Younker is presented the Â鶹ֱ²¥ Membership Service Award at the 2019 Annual Meeting.
Randall (Randy) Younker, Professor of Archaeology and History of Antiquity; Director, PhD (Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology) Program; and Director, Institute of Archaeology, Andrews University, has served as the chair of the Membership and Outreach Committee for six years (spanning two three-year terms), from 2014 through 2019. As Committee Chair, he has especially championed programs of international outreach for Â鶹ֱ²¥, bringing several international members onto the Membership and Outreach committee and successfully coordinating Â鶹ֱ²¥’s first international symposium at the Sorbonne in Paris in September 2018 that was co-sponsored with the École Pratique des Hautes Études, part of the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres. In recognition of his tenure and the work that he accomplished as Membership and Outreach Committee Chair, he is awarded an Â鶹ֱ²¥ Membership Service Award.
Randy provided a statement on receiving the Membership Service Award.
“I am, of course, pleased to receive this award, but like all committee chairs, I really must give credit to the committee, itself, for their guidance, suggestions, insights and time spent outside the committee meetings getting things done as we pursued the work and goals of the committee. Folks that served on the committee with me included Stevan Dana, Stefanie Elkins, Susan Laden, Teddy Burgh, Vanessa Bigot-Juloux, Regina Hunziker-Rodewald, Elisabeth Lesnes, Gary Arbino, Kyle Keimer, Cynthia Schafer-Elliot and others. I must especially single out Stevan Dana for the tremendous time, energy and various resources he spent in building up the Friends of Â鶹ֱ²¥ to its all-time high, and Vanessa Bigot-Juloux who likewise did a tremendous amount of work to successfully launch our EPHE-Â鶹ֱ²¥ program in the elegant chambers of the Sorbonne in Paris and the Louvre! Thanks to all!!”