Departmental alumnus produces a Latin reader's edition of St. Augustine's Confessions

Emmaus Academic Press has published a Latin reader's edition of St. Augustine's Confessions by CUA Greek and Latin alumnus, Kevin Bergdorf (Certificate in Greek and Latin, August 2022).

Departmental alumnus publishes previously untranslated canon law Latin text

CUA Greek and Latin alumnus, Dr. Lionel Yaceczko, translated a previously untranslated Latin text of the Syllabus, part of defence documents submitted during the Mortara case (1858). Dr. Yaceczko's translation appears in the CUA Press book "The Mortara Case and Thomas Aquinas's Defense of Jewish Parental Authority: with Original Documents from the Mortara Case: Pro-memoria, Syllabus, Brevi cenni" to be published in February 2025.

Faculty member receives award for excellence in teaching

Professor William McCarthy (second from right), faculty member in the Department of Greek and Latin, received the Ingrid Merkel Award for Excellence in Teaching at a ceremony in Heritage Hall on Tuesday 3rd September 2024. The citation of Professor McCarthy's achievements that Dean Tom Smith read praised Professor McCarthy for '[modeling] the very essence of the human “desire to know”: his ability to connect ideas across time and space is fed by his remarkable memory for detail and sustained by his voracious curiosity.'

Research Associate alumnus honored for scientific achievements

Luigi M. De Luca (Maturita' Classica, Capece State College, Maglie, Lecce, Italy; Doctorate, Organic Chemistry, University of Pavia, Italy; M.A., Classics (Latin), University of Maryland, College Park; M.A., Greek, Catholic University; Ph.D., Greek and Latin, Catholic University), alumnus and Research Associate of the Department of Greek and Latin, has recently been inducted as a Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition Foundation, an honor conferred upon senior-level academics for professional contributions to the field of nutritional sciences (in this case, specifically Nutritional Biochemistry).  Dr. De Luca's diverse academic skills and interests were also clearly represented in his 2019 dissertation for this department, which studied Basil of Caesarea’s botany, pharmacology, and nutrition.

Departmental alumna wins ACLS fellowship

Jocelyn (Rohrbach) Moore (B.A., Catholic University; M.A., Washington University in St. Louis; Ph.D., University of Virginia) has recently been awarded a 2023 ACLS Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) to finish her book, If the House Would Speak: The House in Greek Tragedy, during the 2023-24 academic year. "The ACLS Fellowship Program supports exceptional scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences that has the potential to make significant contributions within and beyond the awardees’ fields."

Classics Club visit to Dumbarton Oaks, April 2023

Report by Carl Caragine, Vice-President, CUA Classics Club

The Classics Club trip to Dumbarton Oaks was absolutely wonderful. The museum was amazing and filled with pristine artifacts that took my breath away. These artifacts included a beautiful silver altar cover dating from the Byzantine Empire

 

and a solid gold statuette from pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The gardens were also incredibly beautiful to walk through and experience. It was a great experience that I never would have had if it wasn’t for the Greek and Latin Department.  Nathaniel Erb was part of the trip and agrees that trip to Dumberton Oaks was an incredible experience. Nathaniel adds "the insight that Dr. Pagani provided on Roman and Medieval history was extremely valuable. The gorgeous Roman coins were the highlight of the trip. The gardens were unlike anything else I have seen in DC."

G&L's newest Ph.D.

Fred Fraser (B.A., Classical and Early Christian Studies, Christendom College; M.A., Humanities, Concentrating in Classics, University of Dallas; M.A., Catholic University) successfully defended his dissertation, Figurative Language in the Philosophy of Plotinus, on December 2, 2022.  He is already a college faculty member in Greek and Latin, having served since 2010 as Fellow and Guildmaster at Thomas More College. 

First-year departmental major published in New York Times

Nathaniel Erb, a freshman Classical Studies major, has contributed to a New York Times collection of five college application essays dealing with "money, work or social class."

More placement success

• Patricia Craig, Ph.D. 2022, has relocated to Front Royal, VA, to take up a three-year appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Classical and Early Christian Studies at Christendom College. Her position includes teaching multiple sections of elementary Latin using a mixed-method approach that incorporates living language pedagogy, as well as upper-level electives in Latin and Greek literature.
• Lionel Yaceczko, Ph.D. 2016, has taken a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Classics at Benedictine College. The College has recently announced the establishment of the Sheridan Center for Classical Studies. Dr. Yaceczko is the author of Ausonius Grammaticus: The Christening of Philology in the Late Roman West (2021). He enthusiastically employs active Latin in his pedagogy, and will continue to use spoken Latin in his work with the Benedictine College community of Latinists.

The 2022 Saint Gregory Lecture | Thurs. March 24 | 5:15 PM

This year's Saint Gregory Lecturer is the Rev. Brian Dunkle, S.J., Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Boston College. Fr. Dunkle will be speaking on the topic "Consecrating the Quotidian in Ambrosian Hymnody." The lecture is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 24 at 5:15 PM in Pryzbyla Center, Great Room A. It will be followed by a reception and is open to the public.  For disability accommodations, please contact cua-greek-latin@cua.edu at least one week before the event.

On Friday, March 25, at 2:00 pm, Fr. Dunkle will lead a graduate seminar on the topic "The Early Reception of Ambrose's Hymns." To register for this event, please email cua-greek-latin@cua.edu.

The Saint Gregory Lecture is sponsored by the Saint Gregory Institute for the Study of Latin Liturgical Texts, a collaborative project of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and the Department of Greek and Latin.

Celebrating our recent graduates and their placement success

The Department of Greek and Latin is delighted to announce that several recent graduates have been recognized for outstanding achievements and earned new positions in the field.   Congratulations to all!

• Benjamin Lewis, Ph.D. 2019, was promoted in July 2020 to Director of Translation Services for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). In April 2021, he and his wife welcomed Genevieve Marie Lewis into the world. Her older siblings, Monica (5) and Charles (2), are quite fond of her, and she thinks they're pretty entertaining. 
• Kathleen Kirsch, Ph.D. 2019, began in fall 2021 as Assistant Professor of Classical Studies and Catholic Studies, and Director of the Summer Latin Institute, at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND.
• Patricia Craig, M.A. (A.B.D.), is serving for academic year 2021-22 as Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, while continuing progress on her Ph.D. in this department.
•  Jodie Augustine, M.A. forthcoming, began in fall 2021 as a full-time Lecturer of Greek and Latin at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, while continuing progress on her Ph.D. in this department.
• Rachel Elam, M.A. 2021, began in fall 2021 as a Latin teacher at Tidewater Classical Academy, a private Christian school in Virginia Beach, VA.  Joining in a hybrid model of half-day classroom instruction and half-day homeschool instruction, she is teaching Latin for 5th through 9th grade students.
• Matthew Blanchard, B.A. 2019, M.A. Art History (Ancient Art), University of Massachusetts, 2021, is teaching in fall 2021 as part-time Visiting Lecturer in Art History at Westfield State University.
• Nissa Flanders, B.A. 2021, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and is currently pursuing her M.A. here in the Department of Greek and Latin.
• Tim Buonocore, B.A. 2021, is pursuing his M.A. on a full teaching assistantship (tuition with stipend) at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
• Evan Dill, B.A. 2021, is pursuing his M.A. on a full teaching assistantship (tuition with stipend) at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Graduate students create and lead immersive spoken-Latin workshop

Patricia Craig, a Catholic University Ph.D. candidate in Greek and Latin, together with Charles Carman, a Ph.D. student in Church History, and Conor Stark, a Ph.D. student in Philosophy, created and led an immersive spoken Latin event called Triduum Virginiense at Christendom College, July 22-25, focusing upon Vergil's fourth Eclogue. They invited David Ring, who founded an active Latin program at Veritas Prep in Phoenix, AZ, to help lead the event. Triduum Virginiense was supported in part by a Program Grant from the Classical Association of the Atlantic States.  Below, L to R: David Ring, Charles Carman, Patricia Craig, and Conor Stark.