In recognition of her dynamic teaching and constant concern for the well-being of her students, Stacie Raucci, associate professor and chair of the Classics Department, has been honored with an Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Classics at the College Level.
Raucci is one of three honorees selected by the Society for Classical Studies. She is the first Union professor to receive the award. Hans-Friedrich Mueller, the Thomas Lamont Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature, won the award in 2000 as a faculty member at Florida State University.
Stacie Raucci (left)
In its citation, the society notes Raucci’s innovative and creative approach to designing courses in Latin, Greek and classical civilization. In one example, “Reading Rome: Textual Approaches to the City,” Raucci assigns her students to go hunting for inscriptions around campus or in downtown Schenectady and then to write a paper reflecting on what those inscriptions would tell you if they were all that remained of the college or the town.
Said one former student of Raucci who is now a Latin teacher: “Stacie Raucci is the type of teacher I aspire to become - one who can change the life of students by inviting them to experience the world of possibilities that the study of classics has in store.”
The award includes a cash prize of $500. In addition, each winner’s institution will receive $200 to purchase educational resources selected by the winner.
Raucci will receive her award at the society’s annual meeting on Jan. 7 in Toronto.
Founded as the American Philological Association in 1869, SCS is the principal learned society in North America for the study of ancient Greek and Roman languages, literatures and civilizations. Its mission is to advance knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the ancient Greek and Roman world and its enduring value.
Raucci joined Union in 2004. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She is the author of “Elegiac Eyes: Vision in Roman Love Elegy” (Lang Classical Studies, 2011) and of articles on the reception of the ancient world in popular culture.
Her teaching spans Greek and Latin language and literature to courses in translation on sex and gender in antiquity, the ancient world in film, and Roman topography.