C. McKenzie (Mac) Lewis Memorial Classics Fund | College of Arts

C. McKenzie (Mac) Lewis Memorial Classics Fund

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Family and friends of McKenzie (Mac) Lewis have established the C. McKenzie (Mac) Lewis Memorial Classics Fund in memory of their Son, Brother, Spouse, Father, Friend and Colleague. Mac had reached a point in his life and career where he was having a growing and profound impact on his students and colleagues as a teacher, mentor, and leader for student involvement in Archeology. Unfortunately, his career – as well as his loving personal life and friendships – were cut short when he died unexpectedly in March 2020 at age 45.
 
macMac Lewis found his passion in study of and teaching Classics. In particular, he was an enthusiastic hands-on Roman Archeologist – through which he pursued his curiosity about Roman ‘colonization’; finding evidence about the timing, events and process through which Rome was influenced by, assimilated and managed peoples, places, economic activity and culture into the Roman empire.

This Memorial Classics Fund in his name will support student scholarship Awards as well as field study Awards. In particular this Fund will support annual Mac Lewis Classics Awards from the University of Guelph’s Mac Lewis Memorial Fund. These Awards will help bring these interests to future explorers and students who want to experience the search and discovery of enduring Classical ideas as well as learning about the exciting places of antiquity – ‘the rooms where it happened’, to appropriate a phrase.

An archaeologist specializing in ancient Roman locations, Mac was a much beloved teacher and colleague. He earned his B.A. at the University of Montana, his M. Ed. in Latin at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at Florida State University. His teaching career took him from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools to the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, John Cabot University in Rome, the University of Wyoming, Concordia College-Moorhead, and then most recently in Canada, the University of Waterloo and University of Guelph.

From 2012 until his death, he was Director of the Villa del Vergigno Archaeological Project near Florence, where  he introduced 25 to 40 interns and students each year to the techniques, discipline and excitement of hands-on archeology.

Mac Lewis enjoyed Classical myths while growing up. This led to his fascination with philosophers which was the doorway through which he developed his interest in the Classics. As he learned more of the stories, culture, history, leadership, politics, expansion and adventure of these civilizations he developed a passion for learning more about them and, how this knowledge can impact our perceptions and experiences in today’s world. We are proud of the feedback from his former and current students about how he engaged them in a classical legacy – to better understand our collective cultural history.

mack3Mac could get “nerdy” and expand on the nuances of philosophy and lessons for today from Roman history. As an example, In discussions of how personal values seem to be selectively embraced in our modern society – maybe like tools that people adopt, or don’t as they wish, to seek personal goals –  he would bring up and expand on a discussion of the Roman conception of  “Virtus” – derived from the Latin word for “man” (vir). To the ancient Romans, Virtus is a type of public conduct – encompassing valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, worth – which is reflected not by personal gain, but by personal acts, and those of one’s ancestors, in pursuit of the greater good.

As another example – A question about the conceptual phrase “Crossing the Rubicon” could migrate to a discussion of Julius Caesar’s risk assessment – either as an opportunistic personal grab for power, or a calculated response to popular support to overthrow an entrenched corrupt ruling elite – or, a combination of these. Digging into this history to understand the context provides wonderful leadership examples for modern power brokers, politicians, business-people, professionals, educators – and students who may fill these roles in the future.

 

Remembering a Gem: Mary Lewis

I’ve been fortunate to work in a museum; I have come to recognize rare gems and obscure treasures.  McKenzie was like these.

McKenzie’s passion was Early Roman Archeology (200 BCE – 200 AD).  He loved teaching students Latin, Roman/Greek history, culture and (how to) write well (!).

He had the license to a “dig” in Montelupo Fiorentino where he took students every summer to learn about archeology, the art of digging a site, and all the peripherals that go with it (like the art of cataloging even the minutest found items).  Montelupo is the farthest eastern town up the Arno River that is navigable. Ships in Roman times destined for Florence docked at Montelupo and manually carted the cargo to Florence. Because of this the town was loaded with objects discarded, dropped, left behind by the Romans; a great place to dig for artifacts that gave meaning to life in Roman times.  McKenzie’s love was figuring out the layout of the town itself and why buildings’ placements were located where they were.

statueBeing connected to a museum as a docent, it was gratifying to see McKenzie as an archeological student become impressed with Museum’s Tiber Muse. Tiber Muse is a 2nd – 1st C. BCE statue of a woman with beautifully carved draped clothing. He was so impressed that she was in our collection. Every term break when he trekked home he’d go visit the Muse and revel in its style and workmanship.  What fun for a parent – and a docent – to see a young person feeling the excitement of appreciating a piece that captures a part of yourself.

Loving culture, art, history, McKenzie talked about it all – even how to capture audience engagement.  With him, there was never a lag in a conversation.

If you have endured this musing of mine, I thank you.  I thought you might understand –being a museum person yourself– the gut-wrenching sadness of losing a gem (of a person).  This rambling is like me curating my son in a vitrine in the middle of a gallery, focusing some light on him and saying, “don’t miss this one, he’s worth a look.”

Now I better understand the difficulty that institutions have in giving back treasures to the location of origin.  It is just so hard after having a gem, conserving it, polishing it, having it be an important fabric of your existence, to give it back to its original source.  It hurts so much.

Vanitas  

-Mary Lewis

 

Former Student: Layne Cole

I got to know Mac while at Concordia College, from which I graduated in 2018. I’m now at Hamline University in St. Paul for my Masters in Teaching; along the way, I spent several seasons in Italy on Mac’s dig. It makes me so happy that scholarships are being put together in Mac’s honor.

Here is copy of a cameo he had in an essay I wrote for an education course: “My college advisor, Dr. McKenzie Lewis “Mac”, holds a special place in my heart. If I can become half the teacher that he was, my students will be incredibly lucky. Through my four years of undergraduate studies I knew that Mac would challenge me with seemingly impossible tasks, offer encouragement and insight at just the right time, and share my excitement and pride once the task at hand was complete. He believed in me. He trusted me enough to let me take a shovel to his ancient Roman archaeological site. I used the knowledge he imparted to then in turn teach students in the field. He surpassed the role of teacher and became a close friend, always encouraging me to not give up on my dreams. I wish that I had the opportunity to tell Mac that he is one of my largest inspirations for finally committing to teaching. He died unexpectedly in the beginning of March this year. I am still reeling at the fact that I will be going into my first few years of teaching without being able to ask for his advice. However, I know that the best way to honor his memory will be to become the best educator I can be.”

From first getting to know Mac when I sheepishly called him Dr. Lewis, to forming a friendship, every moment spent with him was enlightening and/or entertaining. He had an infectious personality, which must have been contagious – to the point that his friends Peter and Amanda commented on how I sounded remarkably like Mac when I gave them a tour of Rome. I credit him for my explosive passion for the Ancient World and hope to inspire my future students to chase their dreams, just as Mac did for me.

 

Memories from the Italy Dig:  Samantha Teubner (Mac’s niece)

mac22Being a part of McKenzie‘s archaeological dig in Italy was truly life-changing. I’m absolutely certain it put me on the path to majoring in global studies now, and I don’t think I would have the same perspective and appreciation that I do today without that experience. I loved subtly bragging about the fact that my uncle was an actual, real-life archaeologist, and that when I was a teenager I was able to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience working at an actual, real-life archaeological dig. I also really admired his passion for what he learned and taught. I was really looking forward to being able to continue my educational career and talk with McKenzie about all the things that I was learning, but keeping him in my memory has served as a great motivator and I hope he knows, somehow, what an influence he had on me.

One memorable thing for me was when the local newspaper in Montelupo published an article about McKenzie’s dig on the first page. I remember McKenzie sort of rolling his eyes at the fact that the headline read “Indiana Jones” haha!

I have a necklace that one of the people that worked with McKenzie on the dig made and then gave to all of us who participated. I recall how willing to teach McKenzie and all of his students were, and how everybody on the dig made me feel welcome. The dig was hard work: physical labor under the Tuscan sun during the hottest hours of the day. However, McKenzie made sure that everyone was safe and well hydrated, and he had a knack for keeping us motivated and invested by sharing his passion and his knowledge with us. At the end of every hard-working day we would gather at the Villa, the owners of which adored McKenzie, and we would have dinner together. Dinner was always filled with a lot of laughter, just the right amount of drama, and truly the most delicious food I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

 

Finding a Coin is the Best:  Amanda Savage

When we were in Italy with Mac, he told us that the best artifact an archaeologist could find was a coin because  that provided definitive evidence of the date of a site.mac6

The thing I found most endearing about this conversation was that Mac told us that every time he passes by a construction site, he tosses a coin from his pocket into the site in hopes of providing a future archeologist a “dream find”. Such a nerdy, kind, and forward-thinking thing to do.

It’s something I’ve thought of often as a way that we can carry Mac’s legacy into the future by giving a little nugget of good fortune to future scholars long after we have left this place we call home.

When we had concrete poured in our driveway last November, we had each of our girls place a coin from their birth year in the wet concrete.
 

Video of Mac at his Tuscan dig: – from friends, Peter & Amanda Savage

           –Amanda Savage is in this Video with Mac, in 2018:

I was cleaning up pictures on my computer, when unexpectedly, a video starts playing that is of Mac in Monte Lupo at the dig site – explaining to Amanda and me what they know so far and his ideas about what the site was originally used for. It took our breath away to say the least. It brought us right back to being in Italy with Mac and the joy we felt during that trip. It also shows McKenzie’s passion. He was such an amazing teacher and had a way to include everyone in the things he loved so much.

Peter remembers McKenzie’s concerns about unintended impact of sharing pictures of an Archeological site.

When we were with Mac, I took a lot of pictures and this video. He told me many times “DO NOT SHARE THOSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA”. He was very concerned about dig thieves and says he always comes back in the early summer to see that the site had obviously been disturbed over the winter. He told me that there are amateur archeologists who surf social media for the sole purpose of finding pictures of people who have found coins or other valuable artifacts and then go to these sites in the dead of night to dig with no regard to the site itself and scholarly work being done.

So to protect the site, this video is ONLY viewable to those who have the link. My intention is to keep it as private as possible to respect Mac’s wishes. If you do share it, please ask people to respect the privacy and not just share it to Facebook or wherever.

Here is the link.
 

Value of a Classical Education – in today’s “STEM” society

David Schenker, Assoc Professor of Classics, University of Missouri
    and President of Classical Association of Middle West and South (CAMWS)

I teach at a large public University, many of my students (and their parents) are interested, first and foremost, in how their education will get them a job. That’s fine and understandable.

I could speak at length about the study of the ancient world as a means toward becoming a better citizen and a happier or more fulfilled human being. We could talk about the continuity of ideas, from the ancients to the present, and the influence of the ancient Mediterranean on so many facets of contemporary life: politics, philosophy, literature, language. We could talk about the process of self-discovery, self-knowledge – basically, just growing up – that happens when a young person is forced to confront and consider alien customs, beliefs, languages, and ways of living. We could talk about the fact that studying these ‘others’, so like us in some ways and yet so distant, that encountering these ideas and customs far different from our own prepares us for managing in an ever more diverse world. You can search ‘Why study Classics’ on the web and find statements from a number of schools and departments that express these ideas eloquently.

But, usually I find it better use of time to talk about jobs, not just what a Classics or Classical Archaeology student might possibly do with that degree, but what our students have actually done, and are doing now with that degree. Some few went on to graduate school and are now academics at the college and university level. A few more teach at the high school level (as I know Mac did for several years), where there’s a great need for Latin and Classics teachers. But the vast majority have gone into careers that might seem unrelated to their study of antiquity. I begin with the truth that studying Classics and Classical Archaeology is not easy. Any student who pursues a degree in this area will necessarily become a better writer, speaker, and critical thinker. Those are transferable skills, increasingly valuable in an ever-changing workplace where most training is done on the job.

Generally, on the earning power of a humanities degree, I still look back to a somewhat dated Forbes article.

And a few specific careers:

Doctors: we’ve had many double majors in Classics and some scientific area. To a person, they say that their Classics background is what comes up in medical school interviews, placement in residency programs, and finally jobs. Dr. Anthony Fauci was a Classics major, and credits that training for his success. Here’s a recent article that links to a few others on Fauci.

Lawyers: we have lots of those, too. There’s some statistical evidence that a classics major is the best preparation for the LSAT.

Software designer: no web link here, but some good anecdotal evidence. One classics major knew little about technology when she graduated, but was hired by a tech start-up since she could write and speak more cogently than those who were writing code. She gained technical expertise on the job and is now in a management position.

Pharmaceutical sales rep: One major quickly moved up in the company ranks when it became clear that she could not only understand all the medical jargon, but even figure out the uses of some of the products from their names.

Financial advisor:  The founder of a local financial advising firm, himself a Classics major, has funded our annual Ancient Greek prize, and presses us annually for recent graduates he might hire. Business majors, he says, might have learned a particular set of skills, but Classics majors have learned how to think.

We’ve also had students go into advertising, editing, museum studies, theater work, and one (I recently learned) has opened the only Kansas City style BBQ restaurant in Amsterdam (shameless plug: https://pendergast.nl/). There’s a world of possibilities.

I have been speaking of classics, classical archaeology, and study of the ancient Mediterranean somewhat interchangeably. The study of Classics – and Classic associations, like CAMWS – is where all aspects of that ancient world come together: literary, historical, philosophical and archaeological. There is something special, though, about contact with the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean. We can go only so far in making that world come alive in our classrooms in the US. If we can persuade a student to travel, study, or work in the Mediterranean, almost inevitably we have that student hooked. Our undergraduates who go on digs or study abroad trips have often never left the state, much less the country. They call those experiences life-changing. As graduating seniors, and even alumni years later, they comment on those experiences as the highlights of their education.

Our university, like many others, has made study abroad experiences a priority, and has tried to make them affordable, but cost is still the number one reason students do not go abroad for study or field experience. It is no surprise, then, that the CAMWS field excavation awards are so much in demand.

 

Remembering Dr Lewis: Recollections from His Students at Guelph
 

Rachel Schenk Martin

Dr. Lewis demonstrated a true passion for helping his students engage with Classical studies. He encouraged me to find ways to intersect my study of feminist psychology with classical mythology to generate new knowledge in the field. I deeply valued Dr. Lewis taking the time to sit down with me and help me find new directions for my research. He showed a real care for his students, and wanted everyone to find their niche within the field.

Sumana Gupta

Dr. Mac Lewis had an unparalleled passion for classical history. He always spoke about it with such joy, and I admired how this joy influenced his teaching. I remember when he was teaching me Latin, and he preferred to focus on smaller sections so students could perfectly understand the small intricacies and nuances of the language. He was an amazing educator, and he had a positive influence on my time in the classical studies program.

Rachel Tucker

Dr. Lewis was the perfect person to step up and help our department through a difficult situation. His passion for empowering students to study classics was the cornerstone of his classroom. He was always encouraging and intentional about following-up with specific questions and interests students had. During his first few days teaching, we invited him to our annual student Symposium happening that very weekend. Having barely met us, he gave up his entire Saturday, eager to hear students’ presentations. We were blown away by his enthusiastic investment into our education. He is sorely missed.

Angie Gismondi

When Dr. Mac Lewis stepped in to be our instructor for the rest of the semester, I was grateful that he was so patient and sympathetic regarding the students’ situation. He was a knowledgeable man and was very helpful when writing assignments, making sure to check in on the students. Even though we only knew him for a short period of time he will be greatly missed.

Sabrina Goupil

Dr. Lewis was an incredibly knowledgeable person with an immense passion for Classics. If you’ve had the pleasure of taking a class with him, you would soon find yourself fully immersed in the material. I myself had the pleasure of having him as my supervising professor for a seminar in classics, and he clarified for me the difference between “theatre” and “amphitheatre” for the research paper I was writing.

Nicholas Butty

Dr. Lewis was a dedicated and enthusiastic classicist whose passion clearly shone through in his teaching. These qualities often led to interesting and insightful lessons that extended beyond the curriculum which in turn allowed his students to get the very most out of his classes. He will be sorely missed by his students and colleagues.

Andrew Field

Although I was only able to spend a matter of weeks with Dr. Lewis, he nevertheless had a significant impact on me and my outlook on our field of Classics as a whole. It was clear from the moment he begun working with us at Guelph that the students, and their education, were at the forefront of his mind. I was enrolled in all the classes he had helped cover and was met with nothing but positivity and a very encouraging personality. His philosophy regarding our Latin class is one that has stuck with me, that is, less is more. By spending nearly entire classes on minute grammar points I can certainly say that due to Professor Lewis I am much more confident in dealing with seemingly minor points! His feedback on papers was extremely encouraging and it was a relief to get such constructive and positive feedback. I really appreciated the way he managed our seminar class; I knew he was doing what he felt was best for us. Most importantly, his feedback gave me the extra confidence I needed to feel comfortable pursuing post-graduate studies. An outside opinion reiterating the positive things I had heard from the Guelph professors gave me that extra, much needed, bit of reassurance. For that I am truly grateful. His passing is an extremely unfortunate blow to the Classics community. He will be sorely missed.