Michael Koortbojian, the Moses Taylor Pyne Professor of Art & Archaeology, joined A&A in 2009, just as three faculty members in the ancient field were retiring, and his arrival had a significant impact on the department. “Professor Koortbojian rebuilt the ancient field and strengthened teaching and scholarship across the department, serving as Chair from 2015 until 2020,” said Professor Nathan Arrington. “His tenure witnessed a significant expansion in the department's scope, with hires strengthening existing areas and moving the department into new areas chronologically, geographically, and thematically. His institutional impact can be felt in the reorganization of the Index of Medieval Art and Visual Resources, and in the development of close collaborations between the department, the museum, and Marquand Library.”

Professor Koortbojian received the M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from the Department of Art and Archaeology at Columbia University. Before coming to Princeton he taught at Kings’ College (Cambridge), the University of Toronto, where he received tenure in 1998, and The Johns Hopkins University, where he held the position of Nancy H. and Robert E. Hall Professor in the Humanities.

Koortbojian counts the visiting professorships he successfully organized to be among the important achievements of his A&A career. “Michael was able to attract international scholars of the highest caliber, who considerably enriched the pedagogy of the department," said Arrington. Thanks to Koortbojian’s initiative, Tonio Hölscher (Heidelberg University) spent a term during the 2012-13 academic year in Princeton as an Old Dominion Fellow and R. R. R. Smith (University of Oxford) came as the Stanley Kelley, Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in A&A and Classics in 2022-23. 

Koortbojian’s groundbreaking and interdisciplinary initiative, to build an alliance between A&A and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has made a broad and novel contribution to the field of ancient architecture. Over a decade ago, Professor Branko Glǐsić, now Chair of CEE, approached Koortbojian to consult on an undergraduate independent study project investigating a Roman bridge, and so began a partnership that has produced two courses, a lecture series, and the Heritage Structures program of study. “Our collaboration started to attract graduate students and researchers and to receive scholarly recognition,” said Glišić. “Most importantly, we raised awareness of the importance of this interdisciplinary collaboration and sparked sizable interest that led to the creation of a ‘signature’ undergraduate course ideated by Michael and co-taught by the two of us in Fall 2022.” The course, HUM 417 / ART 408 / CEE 415 / HLS 417 “Historical Structures: Ancient Architecture’s Materials, Construction and Engineering,” which received support from a Humanities Council Magic Grant, focused on Roman structures and included a class trip to Rome.

Now established, the course will endure. “One of the most gratifying things I’ve done at Princeton was to be involved in the Heritage Structures program,” said Koortbojian, ”and I’m very pleased that Sam is going to be taking it over.”

A devoted scholar and teacher, Koortbojian leaves a lasting legacy among his colleagues and students. “Professor Koortbojian cares deeply about the quality of graduate work,” said Arrington. “At all levels, the courses he offered were intimate, characterized by close looking, thoughtful conversation, and one-on-one guidance. He modeled the rigor of careful research and disciplined scholarship that he hoped his students would acquire, all the while inviting and welcoming different opinions and ideas grounded in knowledge of Roman society and its art.”

“Few people have had as profound an influence on my life as Michael Koortbojian,” said former student Professor Nicole Brown *18 (Williams College). “His seminars were rigorous, challenging, and rich with insight—a heady intellectual experience that one looked forward to each week. As a dissertation adviser, Michael was unfailingly generous with his time and expertise, and our many long conversations always left me feeling more energized than ever before, full of new ideas and possible approaches."

“Above all,” said Brown, “Michael taught his students that scholarship is an iterative process, which should never fail to recognize the insights of the past, but must refine, develop, and build on them in new, constructive ways. As a scholar and a teacher now myself, I remain deeply indebted to Michael for all that he has taught me over the years--and continues to do so as a valued mentor and friend.”