Retired U.S. Academic Is Arrested in Israel on Suspicion of Antiquities TraffickingDr. Lund claims to be innocent, and the courts will have to sort this one out. But I find the case itself less interesting than the press reports about Dr. Lund's credentials. Here's what I could find with a little Googling.
By Matthew Kalman (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Jerusalem
A retired American college lecturer has been arrested in Israel on suspicion of trafficking in stolen antiquities and attempting to smuggle them out of the country.
John L. Lund, 70, a motivational speaker, author, and tour guide, was detained late Monday by Israeli customs and antiquities agents as he prepared to board a plane at Ben Gurion Airport. Mr. Lund is an expert on Egyptian history, is the author of How to Hug a Porcupine: Dealing With Toxic and Difficult to Love Personalities, and, according to his Web site, has lectured in history as an adjunct faculty member at universities in California, Idaho, Utah, and Washington.
A search of his belongings revealed a stash of ancient silver and bronze coins that he was attempting to take out of Israel without a permit, as well as $20,000 and other evidence from the illegal sales of ancient coins, clay oil lamps, and glass and pottery vessels, said a statement from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Mr. Lund had been acting as a guide to two groups touring Israel.
One of the items retrieved by officials was a rare Roman lamp bearing an incised decoration of a seven-branched menorah. Such items are not permitted to be taken abroad without an export license from the antiquities agency.
Mr. Lund was allowed to leave Israel after posting a bond of $7,500. Israeli police expect to file charges in the near future.
[...]
Here is his profile at the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum. Credentials:
... He is a popular speaker and author of many books, cd's and dvd's. His most recent book is, Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon, Is This the Place?.His own personal description is here and goes into somewhat more detail but adds nothing relevant.
He holds Bachelor's degrees in sociology and education from Brigham Young University, a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Doctor of Education from Brigham Young University. Because of his emphasis in research, he also completed the equivalent of a Doctoral Minor in Statistics.
The Deseret Book website has a list of 15 of his books for sale. They are all popular works, mostly in the self-help category. None of them has anything to do with Egyptology.
He is a motivational speaker, tour guide, and author of self-help and religious books. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, but an Egyptologist they do not make. If he has a doctorate in history, he's keeping it well hidden. Apparently he has taught at adjunct level somewhere and so counts as a retired "academic" or "professor," but if some institution let him teach ancient history, I'm not impressed with their recruiting standards.
I am no Egyptologist, but I'm more of one than he is. At least I have actually studied an ancient Egyptian language (Coptic) and have taught ancient Near Eastern history and mythology at the tertiary level.
The Chronicle of Higher Education report above details his background pretty well, but then spoils it with the howler "Mr. Lund is an expert on Egyptian history." Many of the media reports do no better and some are worse.
JTA: U.S. professor arrested for trafficking stolen antiquities. The article refers to him as "[a] retired history professor."
The Media Line: American Professor Caught Trafficking Antiquities in Israel; "[a]n American history professor."
Art Daily has an innocuous headline (An Attempt to Smuggle Hundreds of Stolen Antiquities from Israel was Thwarted) but describes Mr. Lund as "a retired university lecturer with a Ph. D in history from the United States."
Ynet News: US professor suspected of selling stolen artifacts; "[a] history professor from the US."
Then it gets even better:
Jerusalem Post: Egyptologist suspected of smuggling artifacts from Israel; " a former history lecturer specializing in Ancient Egypt."
Likewise Arutz Sheva: US Egyptologist's Attempt to Smuggle Stolen Antiquities Thwarted; "an American tour guide, a retired American university lecturer and expert on Egyptian history and culture."
To be fair, we don't find this nonsense this time with some media, including the major outlets:
Haaretz gets credit for getting it about right: U.S. tour guide arrested for antiquities trafficking.
CNN does all right as well: American arrested over alleged antiquities smuggling in Israel. Description: "a retired American university lecturer." Note that Mr. Lund had not been identified by name at this point.
The AP (Fox News, CBS, WaPo) likewise: Israel accuses US man of antiquities trafficking; "a retired U.S. lecturer."
I am not picking on Dr. Lund, nor am I pre-judging the outcome of this case. He is what he is and, as far as I can tell, he himself doesn't claim otherwise. My problem is with the media, much of which is simply incapable of judging academic credentials. Even Haaretz and the major media did not express themselves clearly by saying that he is a retired adjunct lecturer in areas that have nothing to do with ancient history. (The adjunct status is relevant: although many adjuncts are fully credentialed, publishing scholars, many are also non-academics teaching a course here and there. Dr. Lund clearly falls in the latter category.)
With Dr. Lund and, recently, with Mr. Elkington, it has become obvious that the media could not identify an Egyptologist if one rose up from an alabaster coffin in front of them. Once again, Media Fail.
UPDATE: At Rogue Classicism, David Meadows reaches the same conclusion about this story: Journalists Just Aren’t Trying Any More.
