Jeffrey P. Emanuel

Jeff Emanuel is an Archaeologist and Associate Director of Academic Technology at Harvard University.

In his academic role, Jeff focuses on modern anthropological topics as well as on ancient studies, including the areas formerly encompassed by the field of Biblical Archaeology (see books, publications, and academic conference & workshop papers).

In his academic technology role, Jeff leads a team of highly experienced instructional technology professionals that researches, develops, implements, and supports digital tools and approaches to teaching, learning, and research at Harvard (see grants & projects).

In 2015, Jeff co-founded the Harvard University Digital Scholarship Group (DSG) with Gabriel Pizzorno (Senior Lecturer in the Department of History). The DSG's primary mission is to provide classes, training, research, consultation, and infrastructure development in support of digital scholarship across the University. It also provides faculty, students, and staff interested in incorporating digital methods into their teaching and research with a single point of entry to Harvard's widely-distributed resources and tools.

An active participant in the university and wider teaching/learning/research community, Jeff is has also been a member of the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching's University-wide Teaching and Learning Consortium, a network of pedagogy experts that "incubates and refines teaching and learning ideas and initiatives that cross school and disciplinary boundaries." He was also co-Chair of the Digital Futures Consortium at Harvard (DFC), a network of technologists, faculty, researchers, and librarians engaged in the ongoing transformation of scholarship through innovative technology through sharing expertise across the global academic community, facilitating new forms and methods of research, and fostering collaborative projects that bring about field­ changing developments in scholarship (see University & department service). An active initiative from 2012 to 2019, the DFC was successfully sunset once the activities and engagement that were its raisons d'être had been incorporated into organizations and activities across the University (including the DSG).

Previously, Jeff was a founding member of HarvardX, a presidential initiative at Harvard that focused on digital teaching, learning, and research, both on campus and online. He served as Inaugural HarvardX Fellow, Inaugural Senior Fellow, and Senior Project Lead, leading in the design and development of open online learning experiences, curricula, and business and project management processes. In 2013, he received the Harvard CIO Council's "Golden Bit Award" for "significant contributions to Harvard University's Strategic IT Initiative in Online Learning."

A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Jeff conducted his graduate study at Harvard, where he concentrated in Social and Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology (with a primary focus on Ancient Near Eastern/Biblical Archaeology) and earned the Director's Prize for Outstanding Thesis in the Social Sciences. Prior to this, Jeff studied Classics (with a Classical Archaeology concentration) at the University of Georgia, where he also served as a security leadership fellow with the Center for International Trade & Security and competed in water polo and triathlon. While at Georgia, Jeff was recognized for excellence in scholarship and citizenship, receiving awards for local and international community service from the University and from the Athens-Clarke County Rotary Club, including the Pillar of the Community Award (awarded for "assisting others above and beyond the call of duty"), the Bulldog Vision Award (for "demonstrating outstanding leadership and vision for the betterment of the community"), and the Circle of Excellence Award for international community service. His volunteer service has included establishing a program to teach English to orphaned children in rural South Korea, and being trained to serve as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), representing underprivileged children in abuse, neglect, and custody cases in Georgia. He also holds an associate's degree in Information Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force.

Jeff previously served as a Special Warfare Operator in the US Air Force. His assignments included a year in Korea (2002) and deployment to Iraq (2003). He returned to Iraq in 2007 as a civilian journalist, reporting from the front lines for several newspapers, magazines, and websites, including an exclusive report from Samarra that was the cover story of the November 2007 issue of The American Spectator magazine. He has also founded a web development and digital strategy firm, and has worked as a consultant, senior project manager, and online content and communication strategist, developing dynamic websites and digital communication strategies for businesses, nonprofits, and academic organizations from the Beltway to the Rocky Mountains.