Patty Gerstenblith, a DePaul College of Law Distinguished Research Professor and director of the law school’s Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law,  has been selected to chair President Barack Obama’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC). The committee, which falls under the U.S. Department of State, assists the United States in implementing the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. 

Under this legislation, other countries can appeal to the United States to impose restrictions on undocumented archeological and ethnographic materials that have been pillaged and place the requesting nation’s cultural heritage in peril. When a country requests that the United States impose import restrictions, that request is sent to the CPAC, which gives recommendations on  how the United States should respond.  

“I am excited by the opportunity that this appointment will give me to further my experiences in the cultural heritage field,” said Gerstenblith, who is a noted expert on cultural heritage and the law. “The legislation under which CPAC operates is a signature accomplishment for the United States, indicating its commitment to working cooperatively with other nations in preserving their cultural heritage.”

Gerstenblith was first appointed to the CPAC in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton. She will now chair the 11-member committee that, by law, includes experts in archeology, anthropology, ethnology or related fields, experts in the international sale of cultural property and members who represent the interests of museums and the general public. Gerstenblith says one of her objectives as CPAC chair will be to ensure that all views represented on the committee are given serious consideration.

“As chair, I feel my primary obligation is to see the law under which CPAC operates is followed,” said Gerstenblith. “I want to see that all perspectives are heard and to feel that they each have been given a fair hearing. I want to see that the CPAC process is carried out legally, fairly and efficiently.”

Gerstenblith, who earned an A.B. in classical and Near Eastern archeology from Bryn Mawr College, a Ph.D. in fine arts and anthropology from Harvard University and a J.D. from Northwestern University Law School, has long been active in the cultural  heritage and arts law communities. Currently she is founding president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation and is a director of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, a charitable nonprofit organization that works to protect cultural property worldwide during armed conflict.

She will balance her new CPAC chair responsibilities with her faculty duties at DePaul. While continuing her full-time teaching schedule, Gerstenblith will meet with CPAC committee members several times a year in Washington, D.C., and will receive no salary for her service. “This is something I will do in my spare time,” said Gerstenblith.  

Being selected by two U.S. presidents to sit on and chair the CPAC is a testament to Gerstenblith’s enormous scholarship and experience in the areas of cultural heritage and the law. DePaul law students have the additional benefit of learning from one of the nation’s foremost experts in the area who is actively involved in making critical decisions about how the United States can help other nations maintain their cultural heritage. 

“My appointment brings an additional element of prestige and recognition to my work and to the Center in Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law at DePaul College of Law,” said Gerstenblith. “I bring my contacts and knowledge in the cultural heritage field back to DePaul in terms of my teaching, scholarship and opportunities for students.”