CAMWS announces new Fauci Award
Conventional wisdom would have it that there is an unbridgeable chasm between Classical Studies and the disciplines of the natural and applied sciences and mathematics. We in Classical Studies, as well as many of our colleagues in STEM fields, have always known that that is not the case. Classical Studies and the sciences complement each other wonderfully in a well-rounded liberal arts curriculum, and many of our best students have combined their Classical Studies majors with majors and minors in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and many other STEM disciplines.
To encourage such synergies, the Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) has announced a new annual award. Named in honor of America's favorite immunologist, Dr Anthony Fauci, who studied Classics and pre-med at Holy Cross, the award recognizes juniors and seniors at institutions belonging to CAMWS whose academic program includes a major, a minor, or significant coursework in both Classical Studies and a STEM field. The announcement for the award is copied below, and you can also get more information about it at the CAMWS website.
Fauci Award in STEM and Classics
The Classical Association of the Middle West and South announces the Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics. This $500 annual award recognizes an undergraduate student who demonstrates outstanding work in both Classics and a STEM discipline (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
Undergraduates who are currently enrolled with Junior or Senior standing at universities and colleges in the USA and Canada may apply. The applicant must be a major in Classics or a STEM discipline and must have significant course work in the other field (e.g., a Classics major must demonstrate significant coursework in a STEM discipline such as Chemistry; or a Physics major must demonstrate significant coursework in Classics). Courses in Greek and Roman civilizations are certainly acceptable, but the strongest candidates will have demonstrated work in Greek and/or Latin.
The applicant must submit a 500-word essay on the topic of “How is your experience in Classics enhanced by studying a STEM subject and/or vice versa?” along with a current transcript (an unofficial copy will suffice) for all relevant undergraduate work, and one letter of recommendation from either a Classics or STEM professor. The annual deadline for receipt of applications is January 30. The recipient of the award will be announced at the annual CAMWS meeting. For further information about the award and an application form go to camws.org/fauciaward. This award is administered by the CAMWS Subcommittee on the Fauci Award. The chair of this Subcommittee can be reached at fauci@camws.org.
Anthony Fauci, an American physician, scientist and immunologist has served as the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and as the chief medical advisor to the U.S. President. As an undergraduate at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. from 1958-62, Dr. Fauci majored in Classics with a pre-medical track.
CAMWS welcomes contributions to support this award. To make a donation, go to camws.org/donate and click on “Fauci Award.”
