NJCA Newsletter - Message from the President

February 2020

Salvete Sodales!

Here we are, our spring meeting on the horizon and the bulk of our winter doldrums behind us.

We are excited to be hosted in the spring at Stockton University at their Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies (the Constantelos Hellenic Reading Room).  This will be our first venture to Stockton and we are excited to have this opportunity.

Our program will begin with opening remarks given by Tom Papademetriou, Ph.D., Professor of History and the Executive Director of the Dean C. and Zoe S. Pappas Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies and Lisa Honaker, Ph.D., Dean of Arts and Humanities, Professor of Literature at Stockton University.  Katherine Panagakos, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Classics has been our planning partner for this event and we are grateful for the time she has contributed to the securing of our speakers for the event and the planning of the refreshments.

Our program will begin with Dr. Catharine Judson, who is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History. “Digging up Crete” has certainly piqued our curiosity.

Following the lunch break, Dr. Laura Zucconi, a Professor of History will present, “Can a Woman with Garlic-Onion Breath Get Pregnant?” You couldn’t ask for a better title for a presentation--can’t wait to get the answer to that question.

Our own Barbara Thorpe-Nelson is going to share and go “beyond” to give us an update on the New Jersey Latin Inscriptions Project.

So, run, don’t walk to get those registrations submitted, with payment, for your attendance at our March 6, 2020, meeting at Stockton University.

Just as exciting as our upcoming program is the news that this is the Centennial of the New Jersey Classical Association. 

It is known that state meetings of Latin teachers had been called from time to time before 1917.  The actual naming of the New Jersey Classical Association was in 1920. Meetings of the early years are logged between 1925 and 1949, with Edna White having served as the first President of the organization through 1927.  Presidents have been very active in bringing speakers and programs on a wide variety of topics. Members have come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The objectives have been and continue to be to provide resources for Classicists at all levels in New Jersey starting at the elementary school level, middle school, high school and College and University.  

Up into the early 1980’s, meetings were held three times a year, with an attempt to hold the spring meeting closest to the Ides of March; they were held at College and University campuses in New Jersey.  Our informative NJCA bulletin was started by Dr. Walter Myers of Camden, when he was the Vice President of NJCA during the years 1940-1944. Early bulletins included articles about important ancient Roman history locations in Italy.

From the listing of officers in this Organization’s history and the schools at which they taught, it is obvious that there were far more schools in New Jersey that offered Latin programs to their students back then.  In 1944, all foreign language programs in New Jersey public schools were faced with curtailment, when the law was passed requiring two years of American History. Even today, Classics programs in our State have been cut and NJCA continues to work to promote the teaching of the Classics in all schools and at all levels and they also do what they are able to do to stop programs from being cut.

 Dr. Edna White proposed the establishment of a New Jersey scholarship to the American Academy in Rome.  The idea was well received by the membership and ably promoted. An endowment was started with a gift of just $100, which was donated by Evelyn Porter.  In 1939, Dr. White named a permanent committee to assist her in all ways to select the NJCA Rome Scholar from among the applicants. Over the years, the fund has grown and in 1956, the name of the scholarship was changed, deservedly, in honor of its founder, Edna White.  The intention of the program was to improve the quality of Latin teaching in New Jersey--as intended, that is just what it does do.

In keeping with the great pride we have in our participation in this 100 year old organization, something important to note is renewal of your membership and payment of your NJCA dues.  If you have not yet renewed your membership, please do that as soon as possible.  You may print a copy of the form from this web site and mail your check to Marlene, or you may pay on the NJCA web site via PayPal.

We continue to work toward our collective goals and we welcome any information for our web site--historical or not.

Enjoy the season and mark your calendars for March 6th—looking forward to seeing you all in Galloway.

Dorothy Maxwell

NJCA President