Classics Advisory Service
9/1/97 -
8/31/98
Report to the Board of
Directors, American Philological Association
Michael Gagarin, Director
November 22, 1998
My third year as Director of the
CAS was extremely busy during Fall 1997 and rather quiet
thereafter. We faced four situations I would call crises,
one in the US, one in Canada, and two outside the US (in
Australia and South Africa). I am not aware of the
resolution of any of these cases except the one in South
Africa, which turned out fairly well. We also were
alerted to two threats of crises, which to my knowledge
did not materialize. In addition to responding to these
crisis situations, I have continued to provide for names
of potential outside reviewers upon request (three
requests in 1997-98) and to handle requests for
information or other sorts of help (six requests), one of
which was a request for help in starting a Classics
program. I received considerable assistance throughout
the year from John Marincola. The APA database, in
particular, continues to be in demand and is always much
appreciated by those who receive information from
it.
Two matters of general policy
arose during the year. First, the cases in Australia and
South Africa are outside the APA region, though in the
latter, at least, several faculty in the program are APA
members. With the overall increase in the number of
overseas members of the APA and the general acceleration
of global communication, it seems likely that more such
cases will be brought to our attention. I raised this
matter with the Board of Directors at its December 30,
1997 meeting. The Board felt that it was appropriate for
the CAS to become involved in such foreign situations, at
least to the extent that we could be helpful. They also
encouraged us to cooperate as much as possible with
similar organizations in other countries. To this end, I
discussed the matter with Christopher Rowe, President of
the Classical Association (England), and we agreed to
keep each other informed about foreign situations and to
work together where possible. Since no such case has in
fact arisen since then, this agreement has not been
tested.
Second, a colleague doing a
review of a small Classics program commented that it
would be helpful to have some guidelines for what a
Classics program should be. I have consulted with the
Vice President for Education on the desirability of
drafting an advisory (not prescriptive) statement.
Although we both have some reservations, we see potential
benefit in having such a statement and will bring the
matter to the Education Committee for consideration at
its December meeting. If they approve of the idea, we
will work on a statement that would eventually be brought
to the Board of Directors for approval.
Finally, a primary task for the coming year is to work on
the CAS Web site, which has scarcely been touched in the
last year and a half (though the information it contains
is still useful).
Michael Gagarin
Director, Classics Advisory Service
gagarin@mail.utexas.edu
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