Honors & Awards
The Department annually awards prizes to the best students in Classics.
The McCord Latin Prize
The McCord Latin Prize is named for H. Y. (Henry Young) McCord (d. 1943) who was a "friend and benefactor" of the University and founder of the McCord-Stewart Company, grocery wholesalers in Atlanta. Three of his four sons were also affiliated with the school: H. Y. McCord, Jr. ('09) was a member and sometime secretary of the Emory Board of Trustees; J. R. McCord was professor of obstetrics at Emory Medical School; Jeff D. (Jefferson Davis) McCord ('16) was a professor and the first athletic director at Emory.
Originally, the prize consisted of a medal such as the one above, awarded to Hansell Baugh in 1922.
The Reppard Greek Prize
The Reppard Greek Prize is named for R. B. Reppard (Robert B.) of Savannah, Ga., a wealthy lumber manufacturer, dealer, and shipper. According to The Cyclopedia of Georgia (1906) Reppard served on the Emory Board of Trustees, was a prominent member of the Methodist church, was Chilean consul in Savannah, longtime president of the Georgia Sunday School Association, and president of the Savannah Poet Society.
As with the McCord Prize, it originally consisted of a medal like that at right - the medal won by John Fraser Hart 43C, the last recorded winner of the original Reppard prize.
The Sufian-Passamano Prize in Classical Civilization
Our department had long desired to give greater recognition also to the outstanding work on the ancient world that students of our department were doing outside the languages. Happily, in 2013/14 we were able to realize that long-cherished wish when James Passamano (C ’85), along with his wife, Beth Sufian (C ’86), generously agreed to support the design and ongoing production of a new medal, the Sufian-Passamano Prize in Classical Civilization.
Complementing the revived McCord and Reppard, this new prize brings our Classics medals into the modern age, since “Classical Civ.” now forms such a crucial part of our mission. Our first winner of the Sufian-Passamano Prize was Daniel Kuzmanovich ’14. He received his medal at our awards ceremony on April 29th, 2014, with our benefactors James Passamano and Beth Sufian in attendance.
The Department Classics Prize
The Department Classics Prize is given on an occasional basis to especially worthy students, typically to help defray the cost of Classics-related summer travel or study. Students are encouraged to apply directly to the department for this prize.
CAMWS Award for Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies
The department selects students each year for the Classical Association of the Midwest and South's (CAMWS) Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies Awards. This prize typically goes to promising underclassmen and consists of a year's membership in CAMWS and subscription to The Classical Journal.
The Emory College Language Center's (ECLC)
Excellence in Language Studies Awards
The Department nominates an outstanding student each year for these awards, one in Latin, one in Ancient Greek.
Society for Classical Studies (SCS)
Outstanding Achievement Award
Bing Summer Study Award
Generously funded by Peter Bing, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor Emeritus of Classics at Emory, the prize offers funding for students pursuing study in Classics and related disciplines over the summer months.
The Classsics Department offers the opportunity to pursue Honors in Classics (Greek, Latin, or Classical Civilization) through participation in the College Honors Program. Honors is an opportunity well worth considering if you enjoy research and writing, have great interest in a particular topic or area of study, and would like to work closely with a faculty member over the course of your senior year.
The Department's primary requirement for achieving Honors is the completion of a senior honors thesis, written under the direction of a faculty member in the department. Students wishing to pursue Honors choose an advisor and a topic in the spring of their junior year; they then enroll in a four-hour Honors course as part of their regular academic program in both fall and spring of the senior year, producing by the end of the year a substantial research paper. This thesis, together with an oral defense of the thesis before three faculty members, including the advisor, is the basis of the determination of Honors and the degree of Honors— Honors, High Honors or Highest Honors—to be awarded at graduation. Previous Honors theses in our department can be found in the Classics department main office and in Woodruff library; these provide some models of size and type of topic.
Rising seniors (90 credit hours) with a 3.5 grade point average are automatically considered eligible for Honors; those with 3.5 grade point average in the Major may petition the department for acceptance to the Honors Program. (Students who have a GPA of at least 3.45, and the support of their departmental honors coordinator and potential thesis advisor are eligible to petition the department to do an honors project.)
Further details of the college requirements for Honors can be found at College Honors Program and from the Classics department Honors coordinator, John Black (jblack2@emory.edu).
Eta Sigma Phi (ΗΣΦ) is an honorary collegiate society for students of Latin and/or Greek. According to the its constitution, the purposes of the society are “to develop and promote interest in classical study among the students of colleges and universities; to promote closer fraternal relationship among students who are interested in classical study, including inter-campus relationship; to engage generally in an effort to stimulate interest in classical study, and in the history, art, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome.”
Emory's chapter of Eta Sigma Phi elects new members annually from those who have attained a grade of “B” or better in Greek 102 or Latin 202 (or higher) at Emory.
For further information about membership in Eta Sigma Phi at Emory, please contact the chapter adviser, Prof. Niall Slater at nslater@emory.edu.
The national society's website offers much further information about meetings, activities, and summer scholarships available to members nationally at: https://www.etasigmaphi.org/.
