Sign the petition to save Classics at Michigan State University:
(Thanks to Chris Geggie for setting this up)

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-Classical-Studies-at-MSU

Click here for the official statement from the Classical Studies faculty at Michigan State University: MSU.pdf

The budget challenges facing the University are indeed severe, but cutting Classics will not result in any budget savings, and it is detrimental to our students, our faculty and to the reputation of the University itself.

As regards funding, there are no administrative costs for Classical Studies, no dedicated support staff, no graduate students, no temporary instructors, no lab or material costs, and the current faculty will remain on staff. In essence you are advocating a faculty shuffle that will only result in disenfranchised faculty members and disgruntled students who no longer have credits in an acceptable major.

With respect to the student body, in a recent e-mail to MSU’s current majors, Dean Wurst claims that in the last five years MSU has had only a total of 11 majors. The current Classical Studies major did not exist five years ago. It was first offered in January of 2006 and students did not begin enrolling in significant numbers until fall of that year. In fact, there is an average of 24 majors enrolled each of the past three years, and the department has graduated six majors in each of the past two years. These numbers are above average for other programs of comparable size in our College.

Dean Wurst has also claimed that the courses are too specialized and that they do not reach a broad student audience. This reflects a profound misunderstanding of the nature of Classical Studies and the typical enrollments in these courses. For example, CLA 160, which is offered this semester, has 160 students with 47 different majors represented from across the University. This would seem, by any definition, to be a “broad” audience. They offer three or more civilization courses each semester and enrollments typically range from 30 to 200, with only a small minority in Classical Studies. All of the courses that support the major attract a diverse student audience and have strong enrollments, as shown by the fact that we have an average of 34 students per class (including the upper-level language) in the current academic year.

Dean Wurst has told the faculty that after the elimination of the program they will all be assigned full-time to general education. This means that of the entire faculty in programs that may be affected by proposed cuts the Classics professors will be only ones not allowed to teach in their discipline. To deny a person from completing the job that he or she was hired to do, especially in academia, especially when hired to work with undergraduates in that field, effectively neuters that professional’s career and makes faculty in every other department wary of their position. This will create tensions among the faculty and will result in a much less friendlier community on MSU’s campus when faculty members must battle each other to keep what job they have.

The elimination of the Classics program along with all Greek, Latin and Classical Civilization courses not only makes no sense in budgetary terms, not only harms a student’s ability to study what he or she wants, and not only devastates faculty, it also strikes at the heart of the mission of MSU as a land grant institution and nullifies MSU’s own mission statement.

In 1855, the Michigan legislature passed Article 13, Section 11, which founded the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. Article 13 became the model for the Morrill Act, signed by President Lincoln in 1862, which established MSU and other Land Grant institutions. Section 4 of the Morrill Act authorized the sale of public land to create endowments for states to establish colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts “without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactics.”

“Classical studies” in this context can only refer to Latin and Greek and related fields, and it is the only discipline in the humanities named in the act. This wording was part of an addition to original version of the Morrill Act that had been vetoed by President Buchanan in 1859, and it shows that Lincoln and other supporters of the Act recognized that the discipline of Classical Studies is essential part of the educational goals the public land grant schools, and this continues to be recognized by land grant universities across the country.

Cutting Classics clearly contradicts the Morrill Act, and it would give MSU, “The Pioneer Land Grant University,” the embarrassing distinction of being the only Land Grant University in the Big Ten and in the CIC that does not offer Classics.

Michigan State University is a premier land-grant university, but it is also preeminently an AAU university, one of only a handful of public universities that have such distinction. To cut Classics is to negate our intellectual heritage and to deny generations of students training in the core discipline of liberal arts education.

Furthermore, MSU’s Mission Statement, as adopted by the Board of Trustees on 18 April 2008 declares that:

Michigan State University, a member of the Association of American Universities and one of the top 100 research universities in the world, was founded in 1855. We are an inclusive, academic community known for our traditionally strong academic disciplines and professional programs, and our liberal arts foundation. Our cross- and interdisciplinary enterprises connect the sciences, humanities, and professions in practical, sustainable, and innovative ways to address society’s rapidly changing needs.

As a public, research-intensive, land-grant university funded in part by the state of Michigan, our mission is to advance knowledge and transform lives by:

• providing outstanding undergraduate, graduate, and professional education to promising, qualified students in order to prepare them to contribute fully to society as globally engaged citizen leaders

• conducting research of the highest caliber that seeks to answer questions and create solutions in order to expand human understanding and make a positive difference, both locally and globally

• advancing outreach, engagement, and economic development activities that are innovative, research-driven, and lead to a better quality of life for individuals and communities, at home and around the world
Eliminating Classical Studies (among other programs) goes directly against the Mission Statement, renders MSU effectively non-inclusive, and threatens whatever “traditionally strong academic disciplines” related to the liberal arts. Classical Studies is at the heart of any liberal arts education (as it was Classics that began the liberal arts).

No more will MSU be able to remain at the forefront of interdisciplinary studies “to address society’s rapidly changing needs” because MSU is cutting out all other disciplines.

No more will MSU advance knowledge and transform lives because you are depriving outstanding training to promising and qualified students to prepare them to contribute to our society as educated citizen leaders, because you are disallowing the research of your professors to reach the highest possible caliber and therefore will not reach solutions to expand human understanding and make positive differences in the world, and because you are cutting off any outreach, engagement, and economic development activities, all innovative, all research-driven, associated with these disciplines which would lead to a better quality of life around the world.

You are doing this. But you can also prevent this.

The economy poses serious challenges to universities across the country, especially so in Michigan. In the case of Classical Studies, however, MSU seems to have lost sight of budgetary goals as well as educational values. The hasty and unnecessary elimination of Classical Studies undermines the University’s claim to be a center of learning and a leader in global education. There is nothing to be saved by cutting Classical Studies, but much to be lost by our students, by our faculty, by the University itself, and by countless generations hereafter all for no reason.

Respectfully we ask that you strongly reconsider your decision and rescind it. Plato once describes the Greeks living around the Aegean as “frogs around a pond.” So too is it with Classics Departments everywhere. The ripples you create on your end of the pond by eliminating your frog will reach the other end soon, but instead of ripples they will be much larger and much more disastrous.

Please consider writing letters to the responsible parties in support of keeping Classical Studies at Michigan.

contact information for MSU administration:

Lou Anna K. Simon, President presmail@msu.edu

450 ADMINISTRATION BLDG .
EAST LANSING MI 48824-1046
517-355-6560

Kim Wilcox, Provost kwilcox@msu.edu

429 ADMINISTRATION BLDG.
EAST LANSING MI 48824-1046
517-355-1524

Karin A. Wurst, Dean, Arts and Letters: wurst@msu.edu

320 LINTON HALL
EAST LANSING MI 48824-1044
517-355-4597

Here are some helpful, pedagogical links for Classicists:

Athens v. Sparta: 1 part Thucydides, 1 part Flaming Lips, 1 part Nada Surf. All amazing. Download their indie rock release relating the history of the Peloponnesian War for FREE here: http://www.reverbnation.com/athensvsparta. At just under an hour, the CD is perfect to listen to in a single class period, and is appropriate for all ages. The music is rather moody, the vocals haunting, and the narration from the texts of Thucydides and Xenophon is both remarkable and chilling.

Dr. Rick LaFleur, eClassics member and University of Georgia professor, leads a Latin teaching methods class online. This semester's methods class is up & running, with a dozen or so students enrolled from across the U.S. For info, interested persons should go here. Surf around, and especially click on OVERVIEW in the middle of the home page.

Patron saint of oral Latin, Dr. Terry Tunberg of the University of Kentucky, offers this link to videos of impromptu conversational Latin, with accents placed with 100% accuracy.

The Association for Latin Teaching (ArLT) in the UK publishes a lively blog which you can read here.

The American Philological Association (APA) sponsored its first-ever podcasting panel in 2009. Listen to the podcasts and leave feedback by clicking here.

eClassics member Evan Millner is prolific in the UK with a number of fun and practical Latin-language websites:

1) Schola is an all-Latin language, informal social network. Do visit Schola and participate!

2) Latinum is an extensive site containing hundreds of lessons in spoken Classical Latin, based on a free pdf textbook. In addition, Latinum provides vocabulary drills, and a wide range of Classical and other readings. Over one million audio downloads in its first year, and steadily growing in popularity. Visit the site by clicking here!

3) Imaginum Vocabularium is an image-based site to help with vocabulary learning. Visit this unique and helpful site here.

Scholiastae , a new wiki, is intended as a way for people to share their own scholia on classical works. Thanks to William Annis for this new site.

French Latinists unite! See what's happening with oral Latin in France by clicking here.

eClassics member Danja Mahoney (aka Magistra M), blogs about teaching Latin in the 21st century and focuses on technology and teaching. Visit her blog here, or read it via the RSS feed on the left.

Perlingua.com is a great free resource for Latin teachers containing games, PowerPoint slideshows, audio, video, and more, for a variety of Latin textbooks.

Check out eClassics member, M. Fletcher's, Facebook group, "Latin & Greek: Listen and Learn".

AKWN.NET: From Dr. Juan Coderch at the University of St. Andrews comes the news of the world in ancient Greek! Click here to read.

Latinitas Viva!: eClassics member Stefano runs a Latin-languages website and blog which is really worth spending some time exploring. Click here to get there.

The Vatican's Latin-language version of its website is now live. Check it out here.

One goal of many Classics students is to gain an advanced degree in philology and/or archaeology. To that end, the good people over at the Classical Journal have provided a comprehensive list of graduate study programs both in North America and abroad. They have also published on-line a comprehensive guide on how and where to present scholarly papers at conferences. Both of these outstanding resources can be found by clicking here.

The Classical Journal, published by CAMWS (the Forum section is dedicated to pedagogy).

An article on technology and Classics pedagogy, "From Slate to Tablet PC: Using New Technologies to Teach and Learn Latin and Greek", has been published as an on-line exclusive to the Classical Journal (CAMWS). Written by eClassics founder and Director of eLearning for Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Andrew Reinhard, the article covers a wide spectrum of digital tools for the contemporary Classicist to use in (and out) of the classroom. The article has been peer-reviewed and edited and appears as part of the CJ Forum which is dedicated to Classics pedagogy.

Speaking of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS), do pay a visit to their page for the Committee for the Promotion of Latin for helpful links to "emergency kits for programs in crisis", funding opportunities, and CPL Online, a "national peer-reviewed journal on all facets of Latin teaching at all levels...".

Excellence Through Classics is a standing committee of the American Classical League for the promotion and support of Elementary, Middle School &
Introductory Classics Programs.

The Iris Project (and Iris magazine) is a UK-based initiative to promote Classics to anyone and everyone. From their homepage: "This magazine is part of a wider initiative, the iris project, which was founded in the belief that the opportunity to learn about the fascinating languages, literature, histories and art of the Ancient World should be made available to all, regardless of background. This initiative seeks to awaken and nurture an interest in the Classics by making it accessible and appealing to a broad audience." This is a great program -- please visit!

For Latin teachers and students who wish to test their conversational mettle with other Latin speakers worldwide, click here to join a UK-based group that regularly speaks using Skype, an on-line phone service.

All Vergil all the time at virgilius.org! Links to Vergil teacher pages, quote of the day, and more.

The American School of Classical Studies' Blegen Library has a blog managed by eClassics member Chuck Jones. See what's new at the library by clicking here.

N. S. Gill has a handy blog on Classics and ancient history on about.com, updated several times a day.

A clearinghouse of articles on ancient history, along with images of inscriptions, art, and archaeology, covering the whole of Mediterranean civilization can be found at Livius.org.

For a revolutionary take on Latin reading and comprehension, take a look at Paul Latimer O'Brien's site, Visual Latin.

One of our members, Manolis Tzortzis, worked as a researcher at the Center for Greek Language. See what's new here (and via the RSS feed on the left).

Greek-Language.com is a one-stop resource for grammars and other learning materials for varying levels of students of Classical and Koine Greek.

Looking for Latin primary texts already on-line (without having to go to Perseus)? Try this metasite hosted by Georgetown University for both Classical and Medieval Latin. Georgetown also has a bonanza of links to Latin manuscripts, too, for those folks interested in paleography as a pedagogical tool.

Dr. Cora Sowa has created a project planning toolkit for literary scholars (and specific tools for completing specific tasks including cluster analysis). Find out more about the Loom of Minerva by clicking here.

A vulgate Latin blog with podcasts can be accessed here. Scottus Barbarus (J. Scott Olsson) has made this resource available to all -- quite worth a listen!

From Lithuania comes Carmina Latina, two MP3 tracks from Catullus and Flaccus, beautifully arranged and voiced by Julija Butkevičiūtė, singer and Latin student.

OK, here's yet another Latin podcast link to Haverford College which has a clearinghouse of Latin podcast links. The link to links.

Dr. Laura Gibbs out of the University of Oklahoma regularly blogs on Latin pedagogy on her site, Bestiaria Latina. Check out the list of Latin books for children, Latin puzzles (sudoku, anyone?), and more! Laura also has two other cool sites for anyone interested in fun ways to learn Latin: Latin crossword puzzles and Latin via fables.

Got podcasts? Dr. Chris Francese does. As an Associate Professor of Classical Languages at Dickinson College, he produces high-quality Latin poetry podcasts with regularity. Listen here. Scroll to the bottom of his blog to subscribe via iTunes.

Dr. Francese has also been experimenting with the idea of presenting Latin texts with translation and/or commentary in wiki format. The sample in the link below is the little dialogue about going to school from Colloquia Monacensia. The link is: http://wiki.dickinson.edu/index.php?title=Colloquia_Monacensia

Rogue Classicism, posted by David Meadows , is probably the most complete resource for up-to-the-second media coverage of all things Classical, plus regular features like "Words of the Day" and "This Day in Ancient History".

Electronic Resources for Classicists, a meta-site.

Of special interest to “wired” Classicists, the daily blog on stoa.org is an invaluable source of news, calls for papers, and interesting projects all involving technology and the Classics.

eClassics member Pieter Jansegers administers this link farm for Latinists from Belgium. That is to say, he's from Belgium. Any Latinist can use his links!

Rob Latousek is the president of Centaur Systems software, a company he founded in 1984. His company produces Classics-themed software ranging from dictionaries to tours of archaeological sites.

Julian Morgan could be considered to by Rob Latousek's UK counterpart, and has been involved in connecting the two worlds of Classics and ICT for years. Visit his site, and read his article (in PDF) on "A Good Practice Guide for the use of ICT in Classics Teaching".

The Digital Classicist discussion list covers everything from picking a professional-grade image scanner to calls for papers, managed from King’s College, London.

My publisher, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., has a variety of forums discussing everything from Gilgamesh to Uses and Abuses of the Classics. Join the discussion by clicking here.

Rose Williams has been teaching Latin "for a very long time" (her words) to anyone who will listen. You can benefit from her experience by downloading the numerous PDF handouts she has posted on her new web site, roserwilliams.com.

Humanist is an international electronic seminar on humanities computing and the digital humanities. Its primary aim is to provide a forum for discussion of intellectual, scholarly, pedagogical, and social issues for exchange of information among members. It is an affiliated publication of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

iPodius is a digital download store for Latin and Greek audio, video, and software, managed by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers.