Today’s feature article is brought to you by Scott Smith, the new Classics-in-Curricula Coordinator for CANE.

Salvete, members of CANE! Allow me to introduce myself. I joined the Classics faculty of the University of New Hampshire in 2000. My research focuses on Seneca the Younger and the rather obscure field of mythography. But one of my main roles as a faculty member at a state university has been outreach: to establish and maintain connections with local high schools that offer Latin and to encourage students who take Latin in high school to pursue the same in college. A product of high school Latin in Virginia in the 80s, I understand the importance of promoting Latin at all levels, and I’ve made outreach a major part of my job. It’s been an honor to give something back by visiting local high schools, writing certamen questions and state exams, and serving as President of the New Hampshire Classical Association.
This commitment to outreach is partly the reason that I accepted the invitation to serve as the CANE Coordinator of Classics-in-Curricula. “The what?” you ask? This was my immediate reaction too when I was contacted about assuming the role; I’d never heard of it before. But I’ve quickly come to realize the importance of this position, and you should too. Let me quote from the CANE guidelines: “The Coordinator of Classics-In-Curricula shall be responsible for providing assistance to classics programs that face a threat of reduction or abolishment and for taking proactive measures to strengthen the health of the discipline.” Given the national narrative that emphasizes STEM and Business as “practical” degrees, it is likely that more and more high school and college level Classics programs will be threatened in the near future. We don’t want to return to the dark ages of the early 1970s; it will take a collective effort on all of our parts to ensure the stability of Classics, both here in New England and further afield.
My position is a four-year gig, so I thought it important to come up with a list of priorities. Here they are.
1) Fill every vacant high school Latin position. If a school cannot fill a position, the whole program may be shut down—and we all know it’s easier to save a pre-existing program than to start one from scratch.
2) Collect data from all NE schools, both colleges and secondary schools. We should have data that allows us to identify threatened programs before a crisis hits.
3) Create promotional material that seeks to strengthen programs by combating the national narrative that overemphasizes STEM to the disadvantage of the humanities.
4) Create a SWAT-team of volunteers who are willing to go to bat for Classics when a program is threatened—or even better before a program is threatened.
I’ll be working hard to accomplish these goals, but we need your help. We need volunteers. We need folks to monitor local programs and to identify where Classics is threatened or needs support. We can help. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
Scott Smith
Professor of Classics
University of New Hampshire
Scott.Smith@unh.edu