Approved by the Board of Trustees on 26 June 2018; revised as below 15 December 2021.
The American Center of Research (ACOR) is an independent scholarly organization, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan. For more than fifty years, the American Center has worked in the pursuit of knowledge and to eliminate intellectual boundaries in one of the world’s most fertile grounds for understanding the past and present. The region fomented the rise of ancient civilizations and remains a central element in current political dynamics, thus knowledge of the region unlocks critical information essential to our collective future.
The American Center acknowledges the fundamental interconnectivity of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, economic development, education, and the environment across the region. Today, preservation, understanding, and growth of one of these areas is inextricably linked to those of the others. The American Center seeks to serve as a regional hub in these areas, broadly conceived and applied across a wide swath of research and related initiatives. In pursuit of its mission, ACOR serves as a conduit, connector, collaborator, initiator, incubator, and implementor of efforts toward advancing knowledge.
Pillar I: Advancing Knowledge
The American Center of Research is a center for scholarly excellence spanning the social, natural, and physical sciences, the humanities, and the arts. ACOR serves a diverse set of scholars, students, and the public from North America, Jordan, and the region, and it has strong cooperative relationships with national and international scholarly institutions and governments.
Pillar II: Preserving & Recording Cultural Heritage
The American Center of Research fosters the preservation and study of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in their natural environments as a core aspect of its mission. Advancing economic development and educational opportunities with local communities is integral to these efforts. Through its own initiatives and by assisting those of national governments, local communities, and international projects and institutions, ACOR seeks to preserve, explicate, share, and record the rich history of Jordan and the region. Within the region, ACOR’s efforts encompass all temporal bounds, cultural frameworks, and scholarly disciplines.
Pillar III: Engagement
The American Center of Research has relationships internationally, most especially in Jordan and the region. Engagement and development of deep relationships is expected among international, national, and local governmental agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions. ACOR strategically communicates with these agencies/institutions, including the public, to ensure that its mission and activities are understood by a diverse set of stakeholders. While ACOR communicates primarily in English, engagement in Arabic will be increased.
Pillar IV: Services
One of the American Center of Research’s core functions is as a service provider. ACOR seeks to add relevant services in support of its mission and increased financial stability. ACOR maintains a solid infrastructure, including high-speed internet connections, appropriate technological tools, investments in scholarly materials and related staff, concise and up‑to‑date policies regarding its services (e.g., acquiring and preserving materials), and modern research/learning spaces. ACOR’s Center in Amman serves as a hub for the region, to which people are recruited to engage in scholarly, heritage, educational, environmental, and economic-development activities. Remote users of ACOR’s services are engaged as practically able.
Pillar V: Supporting Our Future Needs
The American Center of Research has the necessary financial, human, and other resources to thrive in pursuit of its mission. Diverse public, governmental, and private stakeholders are sought, encouraged, and developed in North America, Jordan, and elsewhere.
Track our progress by joining ACOR’s print or digital mailing lists. You can also support our strategic plan by donating to our Annual Fund.
