Happy happy birthday, ůůֱ Ridgway!
I wish you health, happiness, and that continued zest and joy for life, and its many wonders, that you so artfully inculcated to us as students in your classes. This is Marc Vincent, a Haverford student who majored in Greek archaeology and graduated in 1980. Your classes were among the best ones I took at ůůֱ, and your passion and love for archaeology, along with rigorous scholarship, informed my entire academic life.
After graduating from Haverford, and receiving my master's degree from NYU and my Ph.D. from UPenn, I went on to teach art history at Baldwin Wallace University near Cleveland, Ohio, from 1994 to 2016. During that time, I was the co-director of The Seminar in Europe: a biennial semester-long course consisting of six weeks of intense preparation on campus followed by six weeks of travel in Greece, Italy, Germany, France, and England. Needless to say, our visits of Athens, Sounion, Aegina, Corinth, Delphi, Mycenae, and Olympia, would not have been the same without my ůůֱ experience. I’ve included a photo of the 2014 program, and I’m the one standing way over on the left (tall, bald person!).
One of my most indelible memories of your classes is when you told the story of visiting your ophthalmologist and telling him that you had “Fifth-century eyes” — and feeling somewhat puzzled when he didn’t know what that was! Or when you wore a bedsheet to class to demonstrate how chitons were worn. But most memorable were your spell-binding lectures and mesmerizing slides. Such fond memories indeed! Many thanks, ůůֱ Ridgway, for imparting in me a passion and love for art and archaeology — and travel. Your influence on me is more than you can ever imagine! And, again, have a wonderful birthday!
PS: I started teaching in 1994, the year that you retired from ůůֱ College—a symbolic passing of the torch, as it were. I am now retired myself, since 2016, and living in Shelburne, Vermont, near Burlington.
Brunilde Ridgway, Rhys Carpenter ůůֱ Emeritus of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, is celebrating her 90th birthday. In honor of this milestone, her former students, colleagues, and friends have been invited to share memories of their beloved mentor, teacher, and friend. View the list of messages.