DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICAL STUDIES NEWSLETTER 2013
Report from the Head of Department James Robson
In my piece last year for the Departmental Newsletter, I talked of some of the challenges and changes that were on the horizon – the new fees structure in England, new ways of operating in the university, new curriculum production. Well, this has certainly been a year of transitions and a certain amount of breath holding, but the view from the other side is none too bad. The wonderful news for us is that student numbers are holding up in Arts better than predicted and in the Department we have also managed to make good progress with planning and writing new modules. So, this is a busy time for us, but the university remains a can-do place, looking not to cut corners, I think, but rather to create new opportunities to maintain and increase student numbers (e.g. by focusing on retention both on and between modules; making changes to student support; recruiting more global students, and so on). Last year I also reported the good news that the Department had to celebrate in the form of a major philanthropic donation from Baron Lorne ThyssenBornemisza. This year the fantasy of what these funds were able to bring us in terms of personnel, curriculum and scholarships have begun to become a reality, and in autumn last year we were able to welcome to the department two new Baron Thyssen Lecturers in Classical Studies, E-J Graham and Ursula Rothe. E-J’s main task has been to head up the new 60point third level Roman Empire module, which will be presented for the first time in October 2015 (the academic production costs for which are being underwritten by the donation). The donation
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