| Department of Classics | University of Colorado at Boulder | May 2003 |
Table of Contents
Wink Jaffee Donates Magnificent Roman Coin Collection to Department
Published by:
Department of Classics
University of Colorado at Boulder
HUMN 340
248 UCB
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0248
From the Chair
One of the nicest parts of my job as Chair is this annual opportunity to take credit for the wondrous accomplishments of my colleagues in the Department. In spite of the dramatic decline in support for the University from the State, the faculty have continued to perform marvelously. Ariana Traill, Susan Prince, Barbara Hill and Beth Dusinberre have collaborated with the Faculty Teaching Excellence Program on a pilot project in teaching assessment, from which our students will benefit for many years to come. Peter Hunt returned from a semester’s research leave to resume his teaching responsibilities, while working on his latest book, now under contract with Cambridge University Press. Chris Shields returned from a semester as a visiting professor at Yale in time to pick up his Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Boulder Faculty Assembly, the fifth time in four years that a member of the Department has won one of these prestigious awards. Eckart Schütrumpf, fresh off his Faculty Fellowship, is nearing completion of his monumental commentary on Aristotle’s Politics. Diane Conlin is the recipient of a large grant from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation in support of her project to excavate the Villa of Maxentius in Rome. We have been missing Noel Lenski, while he has been in Munich on a Humboldt Fellowship, but we have his recent book, Failure of Empire (Berkeley 2002), to keep us company until he returns this summer. And next fall we will welcome our newest member, Andrew Cain, fresh out of Cornell, where he will have completed his dissertation on St. Jerome.
It takes a bit of courage to read the newspaper these days. Support for higher education in Colorado has never been lower, and it is sad to see wonderful educational programs terminated and teaching opportunities lost. What gets us through these difficult times are the enthusiasm and dedication of faculty, students, and friends who value the contribution of the Classics Department to the life of the mind in Colorado. There can be no greater testimony to this faith than the extraordinary generosity of our friends and patrons. In this issue you will read about the marvelous gift by Wilton Jaffee, ancient historian and benefactor, in support of Roman history and numismatics. The Wilton Jaffee Collection of Ancient Roman Coins will serve generations of students and scholars at the University of Colorado long after the budget difficulties of the present moment have faded into memory. We are grateful for this remarkable expression of support for our twin missions in teaching and research.
On the first of July I will be promoted from Chair to full-time member of the faculty. It has been a privilege to serve the students and faculty in the Department. And it has been a delight to come to know its friends, alumni, and alumnae. John Gibert will be writing in this space in the future. It will not be an easy time to be a chair, but he will find that there are no better places, no finer colleagues, and no more supportive friends than here in Boulder.
Peter E. Knox
Chair
