Leopold, Robert
Former Deputy Director for Research & Collections
Leopold, Robert
Former Deputy Director for Research & Collections
Sociology of language vitality, information ethics, ethnographic and Indigenous archives,
digital return and repatriation of cultural heritage.
Positions
- Deputy Director, Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 2014 - 2020
- Senior Program Officer, Under Secretary for History Art & Culture 2010 - 2014
- Director, Consortium for World Cultures, Smithsonian Institution 2010 - 2014
- Professorial Lecturer in Museum Studies, George Washington University 2000 - 2013
- Director, National Anthropological Archives, NMNH 2005 - 2010
Geographic Focus
- Liberia Country
- West Africa Geographic Region
Background And Education
Education And Training
- Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Indiana University 1991
- M.A. in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Indiana University 1984
- B.A. in English Literature, State University of New York, Binghamton , Harpur College 1979
Awards And Honors
- Webby Award, conferred by International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, 2005
- World Summit Award, conferred by United Nations World Summit on Information Society, 2005
- Fulbright Graduate Research Award, conferred by IIE, 1984
Research And Grants
Co-principal Investigator On
- Evaluating Efforts to Sustain Minority Languages in Europe. Ferring International Center S.A. 2015 -
- Revitalizing CoPAR for the Digital Age: Addressing the Challenges and Accessibility of Analog, Digitized, and Born-Digital Anthropological Records 2015 -
- USAID support to Ethnic Tibetans in China: Preserving Cultural Heritage in Ethnic Tibetan Communities in China awarded by The Bridge Fund 2014 -
- University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution Seed Grant for Research, to develop a metric for assessing the impact, value, and use of digital surrogacy for ethnographic collections 2013 -
- NSF Grant for the Breath of Life Archival Institute for the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (Planning Meeting) 2009 -
Investigator On
- Collections Care and Preservation Fund, National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee, to support conservation surveys of endangered languages manuscripts in the National Anthropological Archives 2010 -
- Collections Care and Preservation Fund, National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee, to preserve archaeological site plans and photographs from the Thunderbird Clovis Site 2009 -
- Save America's Treasures Award, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the National Park Service, to preserve endangered languages documentation through conservation treatment and digitization 2009 -
- Collections Care and Preservation Fund, National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee, to preserve J.P. Harrington's sound recordings of California Indian languages and song 2008 -
- Ruth Landes Memorial Research Fund, Research Institute for the Study of Man, to arrange, describe and digitize the papers of Ruth Landes 2008 -
- Smithsonian Women's Committee Grant, to enhance endangered languages documentation in the National Anthropological Archives 2007 -
- Historical Archives Program Grant, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, accession supplement grant to preserve the professional papers of Alan Harwood 2006 -
- Processing the Papers of Marvin Harris awarded by Wenner-Gren Foundation
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Marsh, Diana E., Leopold, Robert, Crowe, Katherine, and Madison, Katherine S. 2020. "Access Policies for Native American Archival Materials in the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution." Case Studies on Access Policies for Native American Archival Materials, 3 1–32. https://doi.org/10.13016/RTBR-X1KW. 2020
- Marsh, Diana E., Punzalan, Ricardo L., Leopold, Robert S., Butler, Brian, and Petrozzi, Massimo. 2016. "Stories of impact: the role of narrative in understanding the value and impact of digital collections." Archival Science, 16, (4) 327–372. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-015-9253-5. 2016
- Marsh, Diana E., Punzalan, Ricardo L., and Leopold, Robert S. 2015. "Studying the Impact of Digitized Ethnographic Collections: Implications for Practitioners." Practicing Anthropology, 37, (3) 26–31. https://doi.org/10.17730/0888-4552-37.3.26. 2015
- Articulating Culturally Sensitive Knowledge Online: A Cherokee Case Study. Museum Anthropology Review. 7:85-104. 2013
- Inside the National Anthropological Archives: An Interview with Robert Leopold. Anthropology News. 49:32-33. 2008
Activities
Responsible Collections Areas
- Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Organizer Of Event
- Language Vitality in Social Context. Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in partnership with Grup d'Estudi de Llengues Amenacades (GELA) (University of Barcelona, Spain 2016 -
- Linguistic Documentation and Sustainability in Tibetan Minority Communities. International Conference of Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics 2015 -
- Revitalizing CoPAR for the Digital Age: Addressing The Challenges and Accessibility of Analog, Digitized, and Born-Digital Anthropological Records. Wenner-Gren Foundation Workshop Grant. 2015 -
- Anthropocene Symposium. Smithsonian Institution 2014 -
- Valuing Our Scans: Towards a Metric for Assessing Value, Use and Impact of Digitization and Digital Surrogacy for Ethnographic Collections. (University of Maryland, College Park, April 16-18) 2014 -
- The Anthropocene: Planet Earth in the Age of Humans. Smithsonian Institution 2012 -
- Recovering Voices: Partnerships in Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Indigenous Knowledge 2009 -
- Ethnographic Archives, Communities of Origin and Intangible Cultural Heritage, a symposium co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center, the National Anthropological Archives and Human Studies Film Archives, and the Native American Archives Roundtable 2006 -
Professional Service Activities
- American Philosophical Society Collections Development Committee Member 2019 -
- Sustaining Minoritized Languages in Europe (SMiLE) Advisory Board Member 2014 -
- The Rosetta Project, The Long Now Foundation Advisory Panel Member 2006 -
- Council for Museum Anthropology President 2016 - 2018
- Finance Committee, American Anthropological Association Member 2012 - 2016
- Cultural Heritage Working Group, Society of American Archivists Member 2010 - 2013
- Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct, Society of American Archivists Member 2008 - 2011
- Still Image Working Group, Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative, Library of Congress Member 2007 - 2010
- Cultural Anthropology Editorial Board 2006 - 2009
Affiliation
Member Of
Contact
Location
Mailing Address
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Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 2001
Washington, DC 20024–2520
