During the 1930s and periodically in the 1940s the Department of Classics
produced a classical newsletter for Mississippi teachers entitled Vox in Desertis Clamans. It was first edited by Professor Alexander L. Bondurant who was Dean of the Graduate School as well as Professor of Latin. The following
news notes from the Classics Department at Ole Miss represent a rather modest attempt to provide at least some news about our former students and other items of interest.
We encourage our alumni to stay in touch and keep us up to date! Please drop us a line at classics@olemiss.edu!
Philip Levy (M.A. 2003) is teaching Latin at the Geneva School of Orlando, in Florida.
Charles Gammel (M.A. 2004) is teaching Latin at First Presbyterian Day School in Macon, Georgia.
Jason McAnally (B.A. 2003) is studying at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Dr. Michael Johnson (M.A. 1986) is Interim Head of Westminster Academy in Memphis and continues to teach both Greek and Latin classes. 12 of his 18 Attic Greek students scored honors on the National Greek Exam and 70%-80% of his Latin students won honors on the National Latin Exam.
Jacob Spencer (B.A. 2001) will be teaching at Royal Holloway College of the University of London during the 2003-4 academic year as part of his doctoral studies at Yale. Jacob was in Oxford during the summer and presented a talk on Ovid to our Latin 202 class.
Dennis Duncan (B.A. 2001) received his M.A. in Greek and Latin at the Ohio State University where he will continue to pursue a Ph.D. He and his wife welcomed a new son to the family last autumn.
Seven Classics majors received their B.A. degrees at the May 2003 commencement. Brent Bonds, one of those seven, will be excavating again this year in the Agora in Athens and has received a Rotary Scholarship for next year. He will be studying in Scotland and Austrailia. Julia Richlovsky will also be in Athens at the College Year in Athens program during the summer.
Congratulations to Joel Fyke who has won second place in the Intermediate Greek Translation Contest sponsored by Eta Sigma Phi, the national Classical Honorary.
Lee Patterson (M.A. 1996) received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Classical Studies at the University of Missouri on May 16, 2003. Lee has recently been appointed to the Classics faculty at the University of California, Davis and will be teaching this summer at Missouri.
Senior Classics major David Albritton Black was intitiated into Phi Beta Kappa. David has been awarded a full scholarship to the University of Mississippi Medical School for next year. Classics major Katharine Blakeney Hammond was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi. Several classics majors and students received honors at the university's annual Honors Day convocation. The 2003 Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Greek went to Thomas Joel Rutherford Fyke and the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Latin was presented to David Albritton Black. The First-Year Prize for Excellence in Greek was shared by Jacob W. Brasher, Stephen Andrew Compton and Anna Mira Cremaldi. The First-Year Prize in Latin was shared by Stephen Daniel Johnson, Stephen Kyle Tadlock and Anwen Culver Thomas.
The Mississippi Junior Classical League held its state convention on the University of Mississippi Campus on February 21-22, 2003 hosted by Ms. Anne Steel, Latin teacher at Oxford Middle School and the Department of Classics. A lecture was given by Dr. Jonathan Fenno of the Classics Department and some 120 students competed in both academic and athletic events in the Student Union. Students and their teachers were also given a tour of the University Museums' David M. Robinson Collection.
Lee Patterson (M.A. 1996) has published an article, Pompey's Albanian connection at Justin XLII,3,4, in the prestigious Belgian journal Latomus, tome 61 (2002) pp. 312-325. It is based in part on his Master's thesis. Lee reports that he has nearly completed his dissertation at the University of Missouri.
Brian Schmisek (M.A. 1995) received his Ph.D. in Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America and is now Director of the Institute of Religious and Pastoral Studies at the University of Dallas. He will be hosting a three-week program at the University of Dallas campus in Rome next summer.
Jacob Spencer who received his B.A. in Classics in May, 2001 visited us recently. He is about to enter his second year of the doctoral program in Classics at Yale University and has completed his sight-reading examinations in Greek and Latin prose and poetry. Jacob is also a discussion moderator for the website "Athenian Law in its Democratic Context" at the Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University
Elizabeth Bonney who received her B.A. in Classics in May, 2001 is entering her second year of graduate work in library science at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Elizabeth worked as an IT specialist at Rider University during the past summer.
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Brent Bonds, a senior Classics major, was selected from a national pool of applicants to participate in the famous Agora excavations in the ancient commercial and governmental center of Athens, Greece, conducted by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens during the summer of 2002.
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Congratulations to Wesley Flake who has won a red ribbon in the American Classical League's National Greek Examination on the Homeric Greek exam and to Classics major Charles Blanchard who won a green ribbon in the Intermediate Attic Greek category.
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Congratulations to Charles Wells who has won honorable mention in the nationwide Intermediate Latin Translation contest sponsored by Eta Sigma Phi the Classics Honorary.
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Congratulations to Brent Bonds, Laura Caruso and Charles Wells who were initiated as members-in-course of the Beta of Mississippi Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa on Friday, April 5. Brent Bonds also received a Taylor Medal while Charles Wells received the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Latin for 2002 during the annual Honors Day convocation on Thursday, April 4. Also honored were Thomas C. Vinson, recipient of the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Greek, Thomas J. Fyke, recipient of the First-Year Greek Award, Puja A. Nayyar, Richard A. Taylor and Deborah M. Thomas recipients of the First-Year Latin Award. George C. Nicols was among the Spring initiates in Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. He has been admitted to the University of Mississippi Law School with a fellowship beginning this Fall.
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Congratulations to Jacob Spencer who has won first place in the nationwide Advanced Greek Translation contest sponsored by Eta Sigma Phi the Classics Honorary.
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Senior classics majors Jacob Spencer and Dennis Duncan were among 56 undergraduates initiated as members in course in Phi Beta Kappa's Beta Chapter of Mississippi at the University of Mississippi during the inaugural ceremonies on April 6, 2001. Both plan to enter doctoral programs in Classics next Autumn. Mr. Spencer has received a full fellowship at Yale University and Mr. Duncan has received a teaching assistantship at Ohio State University. Dr. Robert Moysey is one of 22 Liberal Arts faculty members who are charter members of the Beta Chapter.
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The faculty of the Classics Department have awarded the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Greek to Mr. Dennis Duncan and the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Latin to Mr. David Black. Both are Classics majors. Mr. Duncan received the Greek Prize for a second year in a row. He will graduate in May and plans to begin graduate school in the Fall. Mr. Black is a Junior.
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Ms. Marsie Thomas who received her B.A. in Classics in May, 2001 has been appointed as a Latin teacher in a high school in Elizabeth City, N.C. where she will begin next year.
Dr. Michael Johnson (M.A., Mississippi, 1986) is now Chair of the Classical Languages Department at Westminster Academy in Memphis. In addition to Mike, the school boasts 2 other Latin teachers and 1 Greek teacher and offers instruction in Latin beginning in the second grade and continuing through 12th grade. Mike will be presenting two papers at a meeting of the Association of Classical Christian Schools being held in Memphis this summer. They are entitled Teaching Latin While Utilizing the Trivium, and Why Koine Greek for the New Testament?
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Ms. Wendy Smith has been admitted to the summer session of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the Summer of 2001. She is the third student from the University of Mississippi to be accepted in the past five years. Ms. Smith received her B.A. in Classics last May and received a Taylor Medal. She is completing the first year of work towards her M.A. and will be teaching Introduction to Latin next year.
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Brian Schmisek (M.A. '95) is now living in Shreveport, Louisiana where he has been appointed Director of the Greco Institute of the Diocese of Shreveport. He and his wife Marnie have three children: John, Clare and Peter. Lee Patterson (M.A. '96) has completed his general examination for a Ph.D. in Classics at the University of Missouri and will be presenting a paper entitled "The Hellenocentric Point of View of Herodotus at 7.150" at the annual meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Provo Utah in April, 2001. This paper stems from a chapter in Mr. Patterson's M.A. thesis.
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Mr. Dennis Duncan was selected as the recipient of the 2000-2001 Way, Jackson and Leavell Scholarship. Mr. Duncan also received the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Greek for 2000. Mr. Jacob Spencer was again awarded the Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Latin.
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Mr. Jacob Spencer was accepted for participation in the Summer Session at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the summer of 2000. Mr. Spencer is a Classics major in his Junior year and is the second student from the University of Mississippi in recent years to be admitted to the School.
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Dr. Michael Johnson (M.A., Mississippi, 1986) and 3 teachers from Westminster Classical School in Memphis accompanied 30 students from that school on a visit to Oxford and the University in October, 1999. They were given a tour of the Robinson Collection in the University Museums and attended Dr. Moysey's Alexander the Great lecture or a presentation by Dr. LaForse. Mike Johnson is also director of counseling at Germantown Baptist Church.
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The Faculty of the Department of Classics awarded to Mr. Jacob Spencer, a Classics major, the 1999 Eta Sigma Phi Prizes in both Greek and Latin. Mr. Spencer plans to enter a doctoral program in Classics in 2001.
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The Faculty of the Department of Classics have awarded to Mr. David A.Webb, a graduate student in Classics, the 1998 Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Greek. Mr. Webb is completing his thesis "Monumental Building in Augustan Athens." He has been admitted to the summer program at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for this summer and plans to enter a doctoral program in Classics next Autumn.
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The 1998 Eta Sigma Phi Prize in Latin has been presented to Ms. Courtney O. McIntire who is a pre-med student from West Point, Mississippi.
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The second Way, Jackson and Leavell Award for the Study of the Classics has been presented to Ms. Wendy D. Smith of Pontotoc, Mississippi. Ms. Smith is graduating from Itawamba Community College and plans to undertake studies in Classics at the University next Autumn.
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Gifts to Classics Department
Several significant gifts have been received recently by the Department.
Mr. Larry Martindale of Atlanta, Georgia has made a generous contribution to the University of Mississippi of which a portion has been provided to the Department of Classics for enhancement of academic programs.
Mr. Charles Jones of Prairie Village, Kansas, an ardent student of Classics, has made two generous contributions to the department. He recently retired from his own accounting firm and, after a recent visit to Greece, plans to attend lectures at the University during the Spring semester.
We are grateful for the support of these benefactors of the university.
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Additional Gift to Way, Jackson and Leavell Scholarship Fund
Miss Vasser Bishop of Oxford, a Classics alumna, has made a generous contribution to increase the principal of the Way, Jackson and Leavell Awards for the Study of the Classics fund established earlier this year by Professor Robert N. Leavell. The fund was established to provide a $1,000 scholarship to a Classics major and honors three long-time Latin teachers: Dr. Evelyn Way former chair of the Department of Classics at the University of Mississippi, Miss Harriet Jackson and Mrs. Grace Farley Leavell teachers at University High School.
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Mr. Leonard S. Kraemer of Jackson has generously donated 47 volumes of the Loeb Library to the Classics Department which will be kept in the department office for use by graduate students and faculty as part of our small reference library. We very much appreciate this welcome gift.
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Netguide selected the University of Mississippi Classics Department web site as one of the top Classics homepages in the country. The Ole Miss site was ranked along with the top 7 university Classics sites in company with Amherst, UCLA, the University of Chicago and the University of Texas at Austin among others. Netguide commended the site for its photos of prized pieces from the D. M. Robinson Collection. Additional improvements have been made to the site since the present review and the number of photos of Robinson Collection pieces has been increased and reorganized thanks to the efforts of Graduate Assistant David Webb.
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Professor Robert N. Leavell, Alumni Association Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Georgia, has pledged $20,000 to institute an undergraduate scholarship for Classics majors at the University of Mississippi. The scholarship will be named in honor of three long-time Latin teachers: Dr. Evelyn Way, Miss Harriet Jackson and Mrs. Grace Leavell. The recipient will receive $1,000 per year and the first scholarship will be awarded for the 1997-1998 academic year.
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A hopeful sign for the future of Latin in local schools is the appointment of two new teachers of Latin in Oxford. Mrs. Heard Butler, who has taught Greek at the University during the 1995-1996 academic year, is teaching Latin to fifth, sixth and seventh graders at the Oxford University School. Mrs. Vickie Schoenly, an alumna of our program, has done a wonderful job of introducing Latin into the curriculum of the seventh and eighth grades at Oxford Middle School and we were sorry to hear that she has decided to stop teaching. However, Mrs. Anne Steel, who has studied Latin with Dr. Moysey and Dr. Capps, has replaced Mrs. Schoenly at Oxford Middle School.
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Ms. Kristi West (B.A., Mississippi 1993; M.A., Mississippi 1995) is now Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Sciences at U.S. International University in San Diego, California and plans to enter a doctoral program there in Educational Leadership.
Mr. Jason Nabors (B.A., Mississippi, 1995; M.A., Mississippi, 1997) has obtained a position at Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee and reports that he is teaching second-year Latin, A.P. Latin (Vergil) and etymology. Houston High School is part of the Shelby County School system and employs two full-time Latin teachers.
Mr. Lee Patterson (M.A., Mississippi, 1996) is teaching Latin at the University of Missouri where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Classics.
Dr. Michael Johnson (M.A., Mississippi, 1986) is now pastor of the South McComb Baptist Church and operates a Counseling Center in McComb, Mississippi. He received a doctorate in counseling while serving as Associate Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. Prior to that he taught Latin for four years at Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport.
Brian Schmisek (M.A. Mississippi 1995) is now serving as director of liturgy at a parish near Boulder, Colorado.
Dr. John Armistead of Tupelo who received his M.A. in 1987 and was one of our Sesquicentennial Celebration speakers last year has published a third novel Cruel as the Grave. It is part of a mystery series which began with his first novel A Legacy of Vengeance. The second in the series was A Homecoming for Murder. All are published by Carroll & Graf.
We are always happy to hear from former students and have recently heard from two former graduate students. Mrs. Kathy Sea who received her M.A. in 1991 is living in Lubbock, Texas and is teaching Latin at a Christian school there. She and her husband Robert were in Oxford for Robert's oral examination for the Doctor of Arts degree in English. Mr. Douglas Gray who received his M.A. in 1974 sent us an e-mail message after seeing our homepage and let us know he is now an editor in the college text division of Simon & Schuster.