est. 1995
The Athens Institute
A World Association of Academics and Researchers: Promoting Global Education & Research
1995-2025: 30 Years of Bringing Academics and Scholars together in Athens
Dr. Ori Soltes (Professor, Georgetown University, USA) has accepted the offer from the
Athens Institute to serve as the next Head of the Arts and Culture Unit
Dr. Soltes currently teaches theology, art history, philosophy, and political history at Georgetown University. He has also taught across diverse disciplines for many years at The Johns Hopkins University, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Siegel College in Cleveland, and other colleges and universities. Soltes has lectured at dozens of museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has been interviewed for a score of programs on archaeological, religious, art, literary, and historical topics on CNN, the History Channel, and Discovery Channel, and he hosted a popular series on Ancient Civilizations for middle school students. For seven years, Dr. Soltes was Director and Chief Curator of the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum, where he created over 80 exhibitions focusing on aspects of history, ethnography, and contemporary art. He has also curated diverse contemporary and historical art exhibits at other sites, nationally and internationally. As Director of the National Jewish Museum, he co-founded the Holocaust Art Restitution Project and has spent more than 20 years researching and consulting on the issue of Nazi-plundered art.
Ori has authored or edited scores of books, articles, exhibit catalogues, and essays on diverse topics. He leads annual study tours to museums and art and archaeological sites throughout Europe, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
As the Head of Unit, Dr Ortes will be responsible for all the conferences (small symposiums) organized by the Arts and Culture unit including the Religion and Theology Symposium that is organized in collaboration with the Philosophy Unit. He will also serve as one of the editors of the Athens Journal of Humanities and Arts and the Athens Journal of Philosophy.
The Athens Institute would like to thank Dr. Steven Arbury who has been the head of the unit since its inception in 2010
