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Robert H. Dyson Director's Office records
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives [Contact Us]3260 South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6324
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Robert H. Dyson, a native of York, PA was educated in the public schools of Forrest Hills, N.Y. and the Collegiate Institute in Ontario, Canada before enrolling at Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a B.A. in 1950 and completed his Ph.D. in 1966, specializing in Near Eastern Archaeology.
Dyson came to the University of Pennsylvania in 1954 as an Associate in the Anthropology Department and an Assistant in the Near East Section of the University Museum. He was responsible for the installation of the Mesopotamia Gallery in 1954-1955. As a researcher, Dyson participated in expeditions to Jordan, the Persian Gulf, Pakistan, Guatemala and South Africa. He is most known as the Field Director for the Hasanlu Expedition, performing this job from 1957 to 1977.
Dyson was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at Penn in 1979 and served in this capacity until 1982. He also served as President of scholarly organizations such as the American Institute of Iranian Studies and the Arab Institute of America among others. Dyson published extensively, especially on the work at Hasanlu.
In 1982, Dyson succeeded Martin Biddle as Director of the Penn Museum. He maintained this position until 1994. In addition to supporting expeditions, Dyson took on the structural and internal improvements that had been neglected over the years. He adeptly established new ties with the administration of the University and re-organized the Registrar's and Business Offices to make the museum inventory accessible to scholars. Dyson accomplished sound footing for the museum"s finances.
Robert H. Dyson, a native of York, PA waa educated in the public schools of Forrest Hills, N.Y. and the Collegiate Institute in Ontario, Canada before enrolling at Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard magna cum laude with a B.A. in 1950 and completed his Ph.D. there in 1966, specializing in Near Eastern Archaeology.
Dyson came to the University of Pennsylvania in 1954 as an Associate in the Anthropology Department and an Assistant in the Near East Section of the University Museum. In 1982, Dyson succeeded Martin Biddle as Director of the Penn Museum. He maintained this position until 1994.
The Robert H. Dyson Administrative Records consist of thirty-eight archival boxes of material. The original order has been maintained with the records being organized into four series, Alphabetical Correspondence, Chronological Records, Personnel Records and Allocation Records.
In addition to the correspondence, the personnel records are arranged alphabetically. The chronological records date from July 1983 to June 1994. The allocation records are partially organized by the prefix "P" followed by a reference number.(P-3, P-21,etc.) The numbers are placed after the title of the folder.
People
- Dyson, Robert H., 1927-
- Lyons, Elizabeth, b. 1912-d. 1989
- Pritchard, James B. (James Bennett), 1909-1997
- Rainey, Froelich, Director of the University Museum
- Thatcher, Margaret, 1925-2013
Subject
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Jody Rodgers
- Finding Aid Date
- 3/20/2015