Classical StudiesChad Austino, Ph.D., Classical Studies (2012)
"Since 2017 I have been teaching classics at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to teaching Latin (and sometimes history and Greek), I am the director of the Independent Study and Senior Thesis programs. In normal times, I help lead an excursion for Packer Latin students to Rome and Campania every other year and lead an annual trip to Athens and Crete where students study cultural and environmental sustainability."
Jonathan Chu, A.B., Classical Civilization (2011)
"In the interim since completing an undergraduate, I received an MD at the Medical University of South Carolina and began a career with Navy Medicine. I served with Marine Special Operations Command as a battalion surgeon and dive medical officer for a brief period before going back to complete residency. I am currently a Lieutenant Commander and completing an Emergency Medicine residency program at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth."
Craig Gibson, Ph.D., Classical Studies (1995)
"I'm working on a translation of George the Monk's Chronicle, Books 8-9, for Liverpool UP's 'Translated Texts for Byzantinists' series. As a longtime 'Seinfeld' fan, of course I've been calling this 'the summer of George.'
Carl Ginsberg, A.B., Classical Civilization (1992)
Taking a break from my role as Iudex Emeritus, I recently visited Lusitania (Portugal), including the Roman excavated settlement at Conímbriga, outside the university town of Coimbra. (See picture) At Coimbra, I even sang for some of the students the song, Gaudeamus Igitur! Continuing my travels and complementing my role in the field of international arbitration, once this edition of Φήμη is published, I will have returned from studying a course in private international law at the Hague Academy of International Law in the Netherlands. I am looking forward to meeting my fellow students from all around the world. Secretum iuventutis est perpetua doctrina .... et peregretina."
Augustus Golden, A.B., Classical Civilization (2007)
"After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 2011 and spending ten years in private practice - four years with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, then six years with Covington & Burling - I joined the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2022 as a Trial Attorney in the National Courts Section. My practice now primarily involves defending the U.S. Government in civil litigation: international trade cases, contract disputes, cases involving the disposal and storage of spent nuclear fuel, and appeals of decisions by the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. I live in Alexandria, VA, with my spouse Jennifer Golden (née Jennifer Yu, A.B. 2007) and two cats."
Laura Kiker, née Puleo, A.B., Classical Languages (2012)
"Cadman and I had a baby, Miss Scarlett Virginia Kiker. She is pulchrissima multo! She was born on Christmas Eve. What a fun time that was. Later, she was baptized in Duke Chapel in warmer weather. We learned better after our winter wedding was met with a snowstorm years ago, and we had to shovel the Chapel steps before the guests arrived! Baby is wearing the same gown I wore when I was baptized at the Chapel in December 1989. Poofy sleeves! We are back in NC. The Army moved us from Texas in the middle of the pandemic two summers ago. Thankfully, it was to a familiar area for me. I am a civil and domestic trial lawyer in my hometown, Pinehurst, and Cadman is the Chief of Military Justice at the US Army Special Warfare Center and School at SOCOM. We spend our time in awe of baby and watching her personality bloom.
"I have fond memories of my classes and of the Department. Every day I use the skills I learned. Plenty of days I dig an inch wide and a mile deep. I appreciate the black and white meanings of words and strings of words. I also appreciate their nuance, their consequences in meaning, and their underlying intention. It’s so fun.
"Cadman and I are planning a trip to Greece and Italy in the next year. Please send along your suggestions – no better community to ask!"
Kathryn Langenfeld, Ph.D., Classical Studies (2017)
"This past year my husband and I welcomed our first child—a daughter, named Sylvia—in December. Her arrival and subsequent infant antics have brought untold joy into our lives. Though no achievement can surpass the sense of fulfillment in watching Sylvia grow, 2021-2022 has also brought its share of professional achievements. In May 2021, I was awarded the John B. & Thelma A. Gentry Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities by Clemson’s College of Architecture, Arts, and Humanities in recognition of my pedagogical efforts and student outreach during the pandemic. Two of my scholarly works were also accepted for publication. One, 'Imperial Crisis Response and the Antiochene Treason and Maiestas Trials of 371 CE,' is set to appear in Studies in Late Antiquity in Feb. 2023. Another, 'Ancient Texts and Sibylline Truths: A Reflection on Forged Documentary Evidence and its Value in the Historia Augusta' will feature in Beyond Deceit: Valuing Forgery and Longing for Antiquity, edited by S. McGill and J. Hopkins (Oxford University Press, 2023). The latter is a much revised expansion of my dissertation research on the Historia Augusta, which was overseen by Prof. Boatwright and continued during my Andrew W. Mellon Postdoc at Rice University in 2017-18. I thank Prof. Boatwright and all of my former Duke mentors for their guidance at such a formative stage of my career."
Adrian Linden-High, Ph.D., Classical Studies (2020)
"We've remained in the Duke orbit since my graduation in 2020. My wife is an instructor in the Biology Department. Not a dull moment when you have a two-year-old and an eight-month-old! We welcomed our second daughter, Emiline, into our lives in 2021. Watch for us at Duke athletic events!"
Art O'Connor, A.B., Classical Studies (1981)
"After 38 years practicing law (34 of which was in-house with insurance companies) I retired in April. Rather than pursue a life of leisure, I spent the next ten weeks working long hours to dress up and update our beach house at Oak Island, NC in preparation for sale. This hard work paid off, as we went under contract to sell a mere two days after listing! We are now embarking on a new home build on Oak Island, a home that we hope will allow us to "age in place" gracefully. Meanwhile, Debbie and I are living in Greenville NC with daughter Kaitlyn (AB, Biology 2015, and an OB-GYN resident at Vidant Hospital) and son in law Andrew (Pratt School of Engineering, 2016) and our FIRST grandchild, Emmerson Rose, born inMarch. Debbie is serving as nanny, and I am her backup. The pay is mediocre (room and board only) but the noncash rewards are immeasurable!"
Clifford Robinson, Ph.D., Classical Studies (2014)
"It's been a while since I've written a note for the newsletter, so I have a number of updates to share. First, I received tenure and promotion this year in the Department of Humanities at USciences, but I will be continuing my academic career next year as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Modern & Classical Languages at Saint Joseph's University, following a merger between the two institutions. Meanwhile this summer my wife Carolyn and I have moved from urban Philadelphia to idyllic Princeton, where she will be starting at the Princeton University Art Museum in August 2022 as the Assistant Curator of Ancient Mediterranean Art. There I will be splitting my days between moving forward with a number of long-delayed research and creative projects and caring for my daughter, Charlotte, whom we welcomed in February 2021. If you happen to be interested in ancient Greek music theory, check out my recent article in 'Greek and Roman Musical Studies' on harmonics and dance in Aristides Quintilianus (thanks to William Johnson for mentoring my work on this author so many years ago now!). And wish me luck for the revisions for an article under review with the 'Classical Receptions Journal' on classical paradigms in contemporary Italian philosophy and for the progress of my book manuscript on Cicero's art of consolation. Best wishes to everyone in the Department and beyond!"
David Stifler, Ph.D., Classical Studies (2019)
"I spent much of 2021-22 at home in Winston-Salem, focusing on taking care of my daughter Sara, who will be 20 months old in August. I did, however, find time to secure an advance contract for my dissertation book and also started a new project that I presented at CAMWS. In the fall I'll be joining the small but growing Classics program at Elon University, teaching part time for now so I can continue taking care of the kiddo. Drop me a line if you're coming out to the Triad in the near future, and in the meantime, look for my article on Lucian and Aristophanes in an upcoming volume of Classical Philology!"
Toby (Tobenna) Ubu, A.B., Classical Civilization (2012)
"I just graduated combined internal medicine pediatrics residency at university of Miami, was awarded for outstanding leadership in patient advocacy, education, and health literacy and was named chief resident in internal medicine for this academic year. Understanding and caring for the context of my patients was impacted by my time in classics, interacting with core philosophy of self."