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New Ancient Near Eastern Studies Coordinator

The Kennedy Center is pleased to welcome Cecilia M. Peek as the new Ancient Near Eastern Studies (ANES) program faculty coordinator. Peek received her bachelor’s from BYU in Classics and spent a year on a Fulbright grant to study classical philology at the University of Heidelberg in south-west Germany. She completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees from UC–Berkeley in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology. In her studies, she focused on Hellenistic history, Roman history, and Greek papyrology.

Now, Peek has a special interest in Ptolemaic Egypt, including the famous Cleopatra VII, and ancient Greek. “My interest in ancient Greek actually started because I wanted to be able to read the Greek New Testament,” she recently stated. “So, being involved with Ancient Near Eastern Studies is taking me back to my earliest motivation for studying ancient languages.”

Peek has a deep love for ancient and modern languages, including Greek, Latin, German, and French. She has a love for travel in Europe as both a tourist and a study abroad director. She has also attended numerous conferences in Athens and other parts of the world. Her hobbies include travel, reading, eating chocolate, hiking, and gardening. She and her husband Ken are the parents of four children.

Want to learn more or wish Peek a warm welcome? She is available through Zoom or an in-person appointment here. As the new ANES program faculty coordinator, Cecilia M. Peek is a fantastic resource for students interested in the Ancient Near Eastern Studies major or minor.