Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The American Center of Mongolian Studies (ACMS) today announced that Dr. Bolortsetseg Minjin has assumed the role of Executive Director of the ACMS, the first Mongolian to hold this position. 

A geologist and paleontologist by training, she received a M.S. from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, a Ph.D. from a joint program between the Graduate Center of City University of New York and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and completed postdoctoral research at the Museum of the Rockies (Montana State University). In 2008, she established the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs, which supported the graduate training of Mongolian scholars and pioneered K-12 educational outreach in rural Mongolia.

Since 2012, Dr. Bolortsetseg has played a pivotal role in multinational efforts to stop the sale of poached Mongolian dinosaurs. In this work, she collaborated closely with the US Department of Homeland Security, multiple US attorney offices, and the Mongolian government. As a result, tons of unique dinosaur remains were repatriated, leading Mongolia to award Dr. Bolortsetseg the Order of the Polar Star. 

In 2013, she worked as the Assistant Director of the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs in Ulaanbaatar, and currently serves on the board for the Alliance of Mongolian Museums. Dr. Bolortsetseg has received an Earth Award from Wings WorldQuest, was recognized as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2010, and received the Raymond M. Alf Award for Excellence in Paleontological Research and Education in 2017.

At the ACMS, Dr. Bolortsetseg will help develop collaboration between Mongolian and international scholars and institutions in all fields of study. Leveraging her extensive museum experience, she plans to build partnerships between North American and Mongolian museums, universities and other organizations to assist the development of museum collections and professional capabilities in Mongolia, particularly among people and institutions outside the capital city. 

She is looking forward to expanding past ACMS programs aimed at documenting and preserving Mongolia’s cultural heritage, and raising the profile of these efforts in both Mongolia and abroad. One area of focus will be to engage Mongolians who live near-threatened cultural resources to help them gain greater knowledge and engagement with their cultural and natural heritage, and become allies in the fight to prevent looting and development that threatens to destroy the artifacts and practices from Mongolia’s unique history.

“Dr. Bolortsetseg is looking forward to supporting current ACMS programs such as the Field Research and other Fellowships, Mongolian Field School, Speaker Series, educational tours, and workshops, and to develop new programs and partnerships that expand the reach of Mongolian Studies. She will be primarily based at the AMNH in New York City, but will travel regularly to Mongolia to work in the ACMS office in Ulaanbaatar once the country reopens for travel” reports ACMS. 

Background 

The American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) is a private, non-profit educational organization that supports academic projects and exchanges in Mongolia and the Inner Asian region, which includes Mongolia and the neighboring areas of China, Russia and Central Asia.

The ACMS represents a consortium of over 40 academic institutions active in the field of Mongolian Studies in North America, and includes more than 300 individual student and scholar members. The ACMS supports scholars working in all fields of study related to Mongolia, and serves as a central meeting place for Mongolian and international academics. It maintains a US office in the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and regularly sponsors Mongolian Studies events in the United States and Canada.

Since its founding, the ACMS has provided more than $2.4 million in support of Mongolian Studies programs, including field research and academic exchange fellowships to more than 100 scholars from Mongolia and other countries. The ACMS has hosted almost 200 Speaker Series events and dozens of academic conferences and workshops.

American Center for Mongolian Studies