Footnote 4 – Whither ASOR?

King writes that “Academia is filled with single-minded scholars, who at times are a mixed blessing; their expertise is indispensable, their tenacity insufferable. Situations sometimes require a Solomonic diplomat if an institution is to survive.” Phil King provided that kind of leadership to ASOR for six years. A major defect in his book, no doubt the result of an undue sense of modesty, is his complete failure to describe his own presidency and the enormous contributions he made to the organization, a contribution that is likely to be increasingly appreciated with the passage of time. Only a single sentence in his book is devoted to his administration: “In [1976] Philip J. King of Boston College succeeded to the presidency of ASOR and served for two three-year terms.”