Oberlin Professor Honored for Her Work to Save Libyan Heritage Sites

Susan Kane, professor of art history and classical archaeology at Oberlin College in Ohio, has been selected to receive the Presidential Award from the Society of American Archaeology. She is being honored for her work to preserve archaeological sites in Libya during the country’s 2011 civil war.

Professor Kane and her associates provided NATO commanders with the detailed coordinates of important heritage sites in Libya so that NATO warplanes would not damage archaeological treasures. Fred Limp, president of the Society of American Archaeology, stated, “By gathering this data and providing it to military planners, Professor Kane and her collaborators preserved for the entire world the extraordinary archaeological heritage of Libya.”

She will be presented with the award at the society’s annual convention in Honolulu in April.

Professor Kane is a graduate of Barnard College in New York City. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College.