Classics professor receives H.O.P.E. Award

LAWRENCE — Tara Welch, professor and chair of the Department of Classics, has been awarded this year’s H.O.P.E. Award by the University of Kansas Board of Class Officers.

Established by the Class of 1959, the H.O.P.E. Award (Honor for an Outstanding Progressive Educator) recognizes outstanding teaching and concern for students. It is the only KU award for teaching excellence bestowed exclusively by students and is led by the Board of Class Officers. The winner is selected by the senior class members.

Welch was honored during halftime of the Oct. 17 football game between KU and Texas Tech in Lawrence.

“Tara is loved by the entirety of the classics department,” said student Jennifer Wiebe. “She is, in many of our opinions, the gem of KU. I feel she should be honored for all the work she puts in to making each student feel welcomed, appreciated and validated as both a student and a colleague.”

Welch completed degrees in Latin and Greek at USC (bachelor's degree,1990), Oxford University (master's degree, 1993) and UCLA (doctorate,1999). At KU, she teaches Latin at all levels as well as courses in Roman and Greek literature and civilization.

Welch's research interests are in Latin poetry, particularly of the Augustan age; the city of Rome; and Roman mythology. Her publications include “The Elegiac Cityscape: Propertius and the Meaning of Roman Monuments,” “Tarpeia: Workings of a Roman Myth” and articles on Propertius, Roman elegiac poetry, Horatian satire and Virgil. In addition, she co-edited the book Oxford Readings in Propertius.

H.O.P.E. winners receive a monetary award and recognition on a permanent plaque displayed in the Kansas Union. For more information on the H.O.P.E. Award, visit facultydevelopment.ku.edu/awards. For a list of past H.O.P.E. winners, visit facultydevelopment.ku.edu/awards/hope-recipients.