The Department of Classics has awarded its first Alfred W. Milden Scholarship, revised its curriculum and is preparing to add a new faculty member and move closer to the heart of campus.
Established in 2004 with a $230,000 gift from Milden’s daughter, Dorothy, the Alfred W. Milden Endowment provides scholarships to the departments of Classics and Modern Languages. The annual $1,500 Milden scholarship is awarded to full-time students who have demonstrated need and exceptional ability and leadership in their field of study.
Linda Denning of Southaven, a senior classics and English major, is thankful for the assistance.
“I was thrilled to receive this scholarship, not only because I needed the money but also because this was a nod from professors in my department, validating my efforts,” said Denning.
Milden received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1889. He taught at Emory and Henry College before coming in 1910 to UM, where he was chair of the classics department and dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1920 to 1936. He died in 1944.
The addition of the Milden scholarship is but one of many changes for the classics department. Three of its four professors were hired in the past few years, each bringing different areas of expertise and scholarship and fueling a complete revision of the curriculum.
Edward Gutting, for example, is a scholar in Latin literature, poetry and ancient war literature. Jonathon Fenno’s expertise is in Greek drama, poetry and mythology, and John Lobur studies Roman history, propaganda and Latin prose.
The department is conducting a search for a fifth faculty member, who will contribute to the Latin program and teach courses on ancient Greek and Roman culture. Aileen Ajootian, the department’s interim chair, rounds out the group’s scholarship with expertise in Greek and Roman archaeology and Latin language.
In summer 2006, the department plans to move from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College to Bryant Hall. The move will provide additional office space and classrooms.