Washington, DC, March 10, 2025—Dr. Stephen Epstein has been appointed as a Distinguished Presidential Fellow by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) for a two-year term spanning 2025-2027.
Dr. Epstein’s focus as Presidential Fellow is Safeguarding Cultural Heritage Under Threat. Those threats include political conflict; the effects of climate change and environmental stress; looting, theft, and black market sale; and policies detrimental to longer term sustainability. In this role, he will conduct research, participate in conferences, and pursue a greater public awareness of these challenges and their consequences.
Epstein holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. His illustrious career includes decades as an advisor at the State Department, where he worked in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2004-2025. Prior to his service with the State Department Epstein served as the Associate Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. He has taught archaeology and anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and Rider University, and excavated in Ireland, Belize, Peru, West Texas, and New Mexico. He has also taught diplomacy at the University of Pennsylvania in Washington, and retired as a colonel after 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserve with civil affairs deployments in Bosnia, Haiti, and Iraq.
“Dr. Epstein brings an exceptional and exciting perspective to CLIR, guided always by a vision of a world at peace and equitably just,” said CLIR President Charles Henry. “We are honored to extend our support in service to his interests and aspirations.”
“As an anthropologist who has spent 54 years among the tribes of the Pentagon and the State Department, I am grateful to be continuing my work among like-minded colleagues in CLIR, who believe that protecting and preserving cultural heritage helps to make the world a more stable and peaceful place,” Dr. Epstein said.
The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching, and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions, and communities of higher learning. CLIR promotes forward-looking collaborative solutions that transcend disciplinary, institutional, professional, and geographic boundaries in support of the public good.
