Suzanne Davis is a senior associate curator and head of the Conservation Department at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She oversees the preservation of the museum’s 100,000+ artifacts and historic building and directs conservation programs for many of the museum's excavation-based research projects, including the Abydos Middle Cemetery Project in Egypt, the El-Kurru and Jebel Barkal Archaeological Projects in Sudan, and the Notion Archaeological Project in Turkey. She also serves as affiliated faculty for the University's Museum Studies Program.
She received graduate degrees in art history and conservation from the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and is a Fellow of AIC. Prior to joining the Kelsey in 2001, she was a conservator for the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, DC. Suzanne is a past president of AIC and has served on board of its philanthropic affiliate, the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation. She currently sits on the Site Preservation Committee of the Archaeological Institute of America and serves as a director on the board of the United States Committee of the Blue Shield, an organization dedicated to preventing the destruction, damage, and theft of cultural property during armed conflict.
Her research is centered in three areas: 1) investigating problems and improving preservation outcomes for archaeological sites and collections, 2) community-engaged, collaborative practice in archaeology and conservation, and 3) ancient materials and technology. She has also studied and written about ancient graffiti, visitor experience at museums and archaeological sites, and gender equity in conservation and museums.