Artemis had previously served as the university's Chancellor while Martha was Professor emerita of Old World Archaeology and Art.

[3][4] The Institute continued and expanded the activities of Brown’s former Center for Old World Archaeology and Art (COWAA), which Sharp Joukowsky directed until her retirement in 2004.

[5] COWAA was founded in 1978 by R. Ross Holloway, professor of classics and Rudolf Winkes, historian of ancient Roman art.

[6] Martha Sharp Joukowsky joined the faculty soon after its establishment and expanded the center's scope to include the Middle East.

Other notable faculty include James P. Allen, John F. Cherry, Yannis Hamilakis, Johanna Hanink, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, and Stephen D. Houston.