As some of you may already know, after serving as interim chair during the past academic year, following the departure of then-chair Anthony Kaldellis for the University of Chicago, I have been appointed Chair of Classics for a four-year term. I am pleased and honored to have been entrusted with this responsibility. For those of you who don’t know me, I have been on the Ohio State faculty since 1983; my initial appointment was in History of Art, but I have had a second appointment in Classics since 2010. My field of teaching and research is ancient Greek and Roman art and archaeology.
This has been a year of significant change in the Department of Classics. After the departure or retirement of several faculty in the past few years, we welcomed four new tenured or tenure-track faculty for the 2022-2023 academic year; more information, including a short profile of each, is included in this newsletter. Just this week we welcome yet another new faculty member, Dr. Benjamin Folit-Weinberg, a specialist in Greek epic and ancient philosophy who adds significantly to all aspects of the department. Nearly half of our current tenure-line faculty, therefore, have joined us within the 12 months, creating an extraordinary opportunity to expand our offerings and opportunities. Just as important, we have also added five new graduate students, arriving just this week, reflecting our commitment to support and expand that aspect of our activities as well.
As you will see from the newsletter, the Department and its members have continued to be very active in individual and collaborative research and publications, as well as in curriculum development and community outreach. I would add my personal congratulations to them for their accomplishments. I would also like to reach out to you, alumni and friends of the Department, and welcome you to contact me directly with questions or to provide updates on your own activities as well. Also, this is our first newsletter for quite some time, and I hope you enjoy catching up with us. It is our intention to continue to publish these with some regularity, so please keep us informed of your whereabouts by sending contact information to our Department Manager Khalid Jama (jama.10@osu.edu).
All the best,
Mark
Mark D. Fullerton
Professor and Chair, Department of Classics
Professor of History of Art