Ex Cathedra (Chair’s report) 2026: George Boys-Stones
Our lease on the Lillian Massey Building (which belongs to Victoria College), expired at the end of last year. It was with some sense of relief that we learned that it was to be renewed, and we began this year with an enhanced sense of awareness about our relationship with the building and the community it houses. One thing we have done since is to make the Lounge on the second floor more welcoming to everyone who comes in: feel free to make use of it when you visit yourself! There are now a water cooler and a coffee machine, and it is possible to talk without disturbing classes next door.
Among the things we appreciate about the building is having the Center for Medieval Studies as our neighbour. We have a lot in common, and there is more we hope to do together in the future. This year we have been searching to make a joint senior appointment in Late Antiquity, someone to form an institutional bridge between us: it has been an exciting process, and we hope to have good news to announce soon.
Talking of neighbours, we were also pleased to see our colleague Kate Cooper appointed as the inaugural Nick Mirkopoulos Associate Curator of Ancient Greece & Rome at the Royal Ontario Museum across the road. We are very hopeful that this will mark a new era of collaboration with this national institution. (Its outstanding Classical collection is well worth a visit if you have not been already.)
We have enjoyed a number of standout (and sold-out) lectures in Toronto this year, some hosted by yet other friends of the Department. It was a ‘Classics’ year for the Stubbs lecture, and Emily Wilson was at University College to reflect on her translations of Homer; Natalie Haynes visited Toronto Public Library to talk about her new novel, No Friend to this House, based on the story of Medea. John Ma came from Colombia University for our Arts & Science Lecture on “How to Do Hellenistic History”; and, in April, we invited Emma Dench to come from Harvard for our annual Alumni and Donors Lecture. She gave a fascinating and surprising account of her experience taking Classical texts into a classroom at the Harvard Business School. Our nearest experience of this has been the other way round: a group of our alumni again brought their experience of business to our undergraduate Classists in our second “Backpack to Briefcase” event, showcasing some of the ways in which our graduates are conspicuously versatile and successful in the professional careers they go on to have.
As ever, we have had many individual achievements to celebrate through the year: our undergraduates, graduates, and faculty have excelled themselves in multiple ways you can read about on our website, and by subscribing to our mailing list (which will also keep you up to date on future events in the Department). One in particular deserves special notice, though: we were enormously proud to see Victoria Wohl inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada this year.
Many of us travel away from Toronto over the summer to libraries, conferences, and digs, but we have a lot to look forward to when we come back to Lillian Massey in the Fall, including a new search for a faculty position in ancient Greek. Do consider the building your home as well: we look forward to seeing you at our events!
CLASSU (Classics Student Union) Report 2026: Luke Lomax and Eli Vodarek-Berman
With the end of the academic year, we are pleased to report yet another successful year for both CLASSU's events and initiatives, as well as the achievements of Classics undergraduate students as a whole. Undergraduate students continue to bring positive changes and innovations to the department, and it is our pleasure to share a brief snapshot of these many achievements.
CLASSU reimagined many longstanding initiatives, from introducing new types of recipes for Ancient Food Day to planning academic seminars around important topics in classical scholarship. The executive body brought fresh ideas to these initiatives, as well as many others that we hope will continue into the future.
CLASSU also invested time in providing new projects that catered to the changing needs of students. Most significant of these was the Library Initiative, which oversaw the purchase of classical texts and course materials for the CLASSU Lounge, as well as formalizing a signout system for library materials accessible to all students. All the work conducted this year by the executive brought about positive changes to the student experience, and we cannot thank them enough for their efforts.
This year was also a success for individual student research, from research assistantships, grants & awards, fellowships, conferences, and publications, many students illustrated their research talents through a variety of means. One highlight was the publication of Plebeian XII, our student journal, which features papers of undergraduate students that cover a wide scope of remarkable topics. Plebeian XII showcases some of the immensely insightful research that the undergraduate body brings to this field. The publication’s success is thanks to the student editors and authors, with a special mention to our Editor-In-Chief, Elisa Penha.
Of course, all of this was achieved with the incredible help of the department. Faculty, staff, and graduate students have been immensely supportive of all undergraduate work, and it is their efforts that made all these initiatives possible. We would especially like to thank Professor Boys-Stones, Professor Sarah Murray, Professor Drew Davis, Angus Wilson, Dylan McKibban, and Coral Gavrilovic.