From St. Olaf comes this news (as a side note, not being in academe I always am interested to see that the names on common textbooks belong to 'real' live people):

The St. Olaf College Department of Classics recently held its 6th annual competition for the Loomis Endowed Academic Award in Latin and its 5th annual competition for the Groton Endowed Academic Award in Greek. The winners were announced at the spring picnic of St. Olaf's chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national Classics honor society.

In the Loomis Latin contest, for the third year in a row, first prize ($300) went to Jennifer Starkey '07. Earlier this year Starkey won first prize in the national advanced Latin translation contest sponsored by Eta Sigma Phi.

Second prize ($200) went to Elizabeth Beerman '07, who last year won third prize in the Loomis competition and second prize in the national intermediate Koine Greek translation contest sponsored by Eta Sigma Phi.

Kirstine Wynn '06, who will enter the graduate program in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., next year, was awarded third prize ($100).

Starkey also won first prize ($300) in the Groton Greek contest. Second prize ($200) went to Alaina Burkard '08, who won Honorable Mention in Eta Sigma Phi's intermediate Latin translation contest last year. Beerman won third prize ($100).

THE CONTESTS
The five students who entered the Loomis Latin contest were asked to translate at sight a passage from Apuleius' 2nd-century satirical Latin novel, The Golden Ass. The seven students who participated in the Groton Greek contest were asked to translate at sight a passage from Plato's Phaedo. Both exams had a one-hour time limit.

"From the point of view of the college and the Classics Department, we're very proud of these students," says Professor of Classics James May, provost and dean of the college.

The Loomis Award was established by Kenneth and Kathleen Loomis and their son, Stephen Loomis '97, who majored in Latin and Mathematics and participated in several translation contests while at St. Olaf. May says that after Loomis graduated he was "anxious to recognize the efforts of the department and repay it in a way that would be meaningful." He and his parents set up the award to assist students working with Latin translation.

The endowed award in ancient Greek was established by Professor of Classics Anne Groton, chair of St. Olaf's Department of Classics. "I thought there should be an equal chance for students who work with Greek to win prizes," says Groton, who established the award using royalties from a Greek textbook she wrote.

"I like to give away royalties, and starting an endowment seemed a good use of them," says Groton. "Students really enjoy the contests," she adds. "It's not often that they can earn $600 in two hours like Jennifer [Starkey] did."

GROOMIS GRANT COMPETITION
The St. Olaf Department of Classics also awarded two newly established Groomis Grants this year, funded from the earnings of the Groton and Loomis endowments. Six students submitted proposals for Classics-related projects to be undertaken this summer.

The two winners, each of whom will receive $500, are Michael Gulden '08 and Emily Holm '08. Gulden will enroll in the University of Utah's Archaeological Field School next fall, and Holm will participate in the Intensive Latin Workshop at the University of California, Berkeley.

Groton said the idea for the merged grant occurred when the department noticed that the Loomis and Groton endowments were generating more money than originally anticipated. "We agreed that it would be great to support students in pursuing interests in classics or related fields," she says.

Three senior Classics majors at St. Olaf have received Awards for Outstanding Accomplishment in Classical Studies from the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS): Keeley Esterhay '06, Kendra Olson '06 and Wynn. Each winner receives a complimentary, one-year membership in CAMWS and a free subscription to The Classical Journal.

After returning from a semester of graduate work in Medieval Studies at Central European University in Budapest next fall, Keeley plans to pursue a master's degree in Latin at the University of Georgia. Olson has accepted a position teaching Latin, dance and history at Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minn.

Both May and Groton note the exemplary nature of St. Olaf's Classics Department and its students. "In addition to having an enrollment of more than 50 majors, which is unusually high for a college of St. Olaf's size, our students are often going on to graduate studies and pursuing careers in the field of teaching every year," May says.

In national competitions, such as Eta Sigma Phi's Maurine Dallas Watkins Contest that Starkey placed first in earlier this year, St. Olaf College has the best record of any school in the country, with at least one winner every year since 1980.

"We're happy to be able to do this," Groton says of the awards and grants. "It's a way to recognize the accomplishments of the students who work so hard on subjects in the classics."