Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies


The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome is an overseas study center located in Rome, Italy for undergraduate students in fields related to Classical Studies. It was first established in 1965 by ten American colleges and universities; by 2007 the number of member institutions had grown to 113. It is sometimes called the Centro, the Italian word for center.

Structure

Each member institution furnishes a "faculty representative" to the Centro; from these, four are elected by the institutional representatives to sit on a governing board called the Managing Committee, with a fifth member provided by Duke University, which provides administrative services to the ICCS. The Managing Committee elects its chair for a five-year term; the current chair is Professor Gregory S. Bucher of the University of Maryland, College Park. Until 1992, administrative services were provided by Stanford University. The Managing Committee hires a Professor in Charge for each year, and three subordinate faculty members, who are responsible for instruction and are usually drawn from American colleges and universities. The Centro offers competitive admission to North American undergraduate students to study the Ancient City, Greek or Latin literature, Italian language, or Art History. A group of normally 36 undergraduate students are competitively selected as Centristi each semester.

The Centro has received financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Corning Incorporated Foundation, the Danforth Foundation, the Old Dominion Foundation, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, its consortium of colleges and universities, former students, and friends. One of its founders was the American Classicist Brooks Otis, in whose memory the center's library is named.

Faculty

Normally there are four faculty members at ICCS Rome: a senior 'Professor in Charge', two junior professors, and a graduate student assistant, the 'Resident Instructor'. The Professor in Charge is chosen by the Managing Committee and the remaining faculty are hired competitively at the annual meetings of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies in January. Faculty duties vary in accordance with the organizational plans of the PIC, but the course load is nominally two courses per semester except for the RI, who teaches a 1-1 load with additional resident supervisorial duties. The professors live in ICCS-rented apartments in the neighborhood, while the RI lives on the premises of the ICCS.

Professors-in-Charge

YearNameInstitution
1967-1968William AndersonUCLA
1968-1969†Oberlin College
1969-1970Edward Togo Salmon†McMaster University
1970-1971Edward Togo Salmon†McMaster University
1971-1972Brown University
1972-1973Brown University
1973-1974Paul MacKendrick†University of Wisconsin
1974 FallCharles L. Babcock†Ohio State University
1975 SpringAlexander McKay†McMaster University
1975-1976J. Arthur Hanson†Princeton University
1976 fallJohn E. Stambaugh†Williams College
1977 springUniversity of Southern California
1977-1978Wellesley College
1978-1979Fordham University
1979-1980The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1980-1981Gerhard M. Koeppel†The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1981-1982Jean D'AmatoUniversity of Southern California
1982-1983Eric NielsenBowdoin College
1983-1984Leon FittsDickinson College
1984-1985Emory University
1985-1986Penn State University
1986-1987Wabash College
1987-1988Ann Ellis HansonYale University
1988-1989Wesleyan University
1989-1990Gerhard M. Koeppel†The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1990-1991University of British Columbia
1991-1992Russell T. "Darby" ScottBryn Mawr College
1992-1993Duke University
1993-1994The University of Georgia
1994-1995Indiana University, Bloomington
1995-1996University at Buffalo - SUNY
1996-1997Vanderbilt University
1997 FallIndiana University, Bloomington
1998 SpringGerhard M. Koeppel†University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1998-1999University of Puget Sound
1999-2000University of British Columbia
2000-2001Harry B. EvansFordham University
2001-2002UCLA
2002-2003Wesleyan University
2003-2004University of California, Riverside
2004-2005University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2005-2006Rice University
2006-2007California State University, Long Beach
2007-2008Reed College
2008-2009Swansea University
2009-2010Duke University
2010-2011University of New Hampshire
2011-2012Creighton University
2012-2013Temple University
2013-2014Duke University
2014-2015Beth Severy-HovenMacalester College
2015-2016Garrett G. Fagan†Pennsylvania State University
2016-2017George Mason University
2017-2018Wabash College
2018-2019Barbette SpaethCollege of William & Mary
2019-2020John MuccigrossoDrew University

Coursework

The main component of the curriculum at the ICCS is the so-called "Ancient City" course. Worth two credits and demanding an exceptional amount of time, this course teaches the history and archaeology of the city of Rome with a focus on its topography, ancient and modern. Although they are supplemented by a weekly lecture, field trips provide the core of the class, with two excursions per week, one a full day, and one a half day. While pedagogies vary with each PIC, students are generally expected to give one or more on-site presentations, which help further emphasize the physicality of the field.
In addition to the ancient city course students must take two additional courses. One class must be in either the Greek or the Latin language. Currently Centro provides two electives, Elementary Italian or Renaissance and Baroque Italian art history; however, Francesco Sgariglia, the program's current director, is developing ideas for new classes that would give Centristi more exposure to contemporary Italian culture, such as 'Italian Cooking.'
Paul Tegmeyer, a faculty member of John Cabot University, teaches a course in art history. The class consists of a weekly lecture Wednesday afternoons and a field trip Friday mornings, normally to a museum or church. Instruction in Italian is provided by Dr. Barbara Castaldo.

Life at the Centro

All students live in a small four-story building that previously served as a convent, located at Via Alessandro Algardi 19, in the Monteverde Vecchio section of Rome, having moved here from Via Ulisse Seni 2. Breakfast, dinner, and most lunches are eaten together on all weekdays; the bedrooms are small; the long and frequent field trips for the Ancient City course mean that class time is heavily weighted.

Suzanne Deal Booth Scholar-in-Residence

In 2012 a program of resident scholars was announced, funded by Suzanne Deal Booth. Booth Residents spend one week at the Centro during each academic year.
Date of TenureNameInstitution
2012-13Richard TalbertUniversity of North Carolina
2013-14Susan StevensRandolph College
2014-15Erich GruenUniversity of California, Berkeley
2015-16Anthony CorbeillUniversity of Kansas
2016-17Jennifer TrimbleStanford University
2017-18Judy HallettUniversity of Maryland