Richard Kain '93 Supports Summer Study Program in Latin and Greek
How can you hope to learn a language when it is, in fact, dead? This is the paradox that Richard Kain '93 works to overcome with his support of an intensive summer study program in Latin and Greek through the John B. Hurford Humanities Center.
Created to help students such as philosophy, religion or literature majors, whose education would be enriched by the study of ancient languages (but who for some reason cannot take elementary Latin or Greek during the normal school year), the program sends them to study either at the University of California at Berkeley or the City University of New York for an intensive 11-week program. Emily Cronin, associate director of the Humanities Center and the program administrator, says students tell her that these summer studies are“the most difficult academic work they've ever tackled, but they all agree that rising to the challenge has given them an incredible feeling of accomplishment.”
When explaining why he funds such a program, Kain says,“I had a great time at Haverford. If there was somewhere the humanities courses came up short, however, it was in the lack of sources in the original [ancient languages]. This isn't a problem confined to Haverford of course, but Haverford has both the academic disposition and the scale for a small program like this to be effective.”
Over the past three years, Kain has worked with the Humanities Center to fund seven students to attend these summer sessions. Representing a wide range of majors and interests, these students use the study of ancient languages both to enhance their intended studies and to prepare for graduate school where such knowledge may be a useful asset. For instance, Meghan Le Francois '10 majors in classical culture and society, with a minor in philosophy, and intends to continue her study of ancient Greek by spending a semester abroad in Athens this coming spring. Another student who participated last summer, Asher Reisman '11, had been teaching himself Latin, and after earning his B.A. in classical languages, he intends to continue his studies in graduate school.
Bret Mulligan, assistant professor of classics, says he's been delighted with Kain's support for the summer program. "Every year, there are students who would like to learn Latin or Greek, but who for any number of reasons cannot fit our elementary Greek or Latin into their schedules during the regular school year," he says. "Since the elementary sequence is a gateway to a variety of language and literature courses, the summer program opens up whole avenues of intellectual inquiry that these students might otherwise not have enjoyed. They are helping to cultivate an intellectual climate at Haverford in which students across a range of disciplines seek to engage directly and routinely with these vital texts and topics."
As for Kain, he currently runs a video game marketing firm, though he continues to read the classics.“I hoped with this program that several students on the same track could take a program together and elevate all the subsequent seminars they take back at the 'Ford, while having some fun in New York or Berkeley over the summer,” he says. “Bottom line, I thought it would be a nice option to have had when I was there.”
