The Certificate Program in Ancient Mediterranean Studies (CAMS) was implemented officially in September, 2003 with the aim of providing UWM undergraduates with a carefully-structured, interdisciplinary program for the study of the cultures and societies of the ancient Mediterranean world and their neighbors, with particular emphasis on Greece, Italy, Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. AY 2005-2006 was the third year for CAMS.

Status of the Program

I. Current Enrollment

As of June 30, 2006, twenty-four students were enrolled in the Program.

II. New Enrollment

Twelve new students enrolled in CAMS in AY 2005-2006. Seven students enrolled in Fall 2005, and five enrolled in Spring 2006.

III. Students Completing the Certificate

Three students completed the CAMS certificate in AY 2005-2006. Two of these students completed the certificate by fulfilling the final course requirement as graduate students at other institutions. The other fulfilled the certificate requirements simultaneously with completing her undergraduate studies at UWM.

Administration of the Program

I. CAMS Advisory Committee (AC)

In AY 2005-2006, the AC consisted of six faculty members, one student representative, and one ex officio member:

Bettina Arnold, Associate Professor, Anthropology

Alison Coffey, Student Representative

Derek Counts, Assistant Professor, Art History

Kevin Muse, FLL/Classics (Coordinator)

Carlos R. Galvão-Sobrinho, Assistant Professor, History

Richard Monti, Professor, FLL/Classics

Charles Schuster, Associate Dean (ex officio)

Richard Tierney, Assistant Professor, Philosophy

II. CAMS Program Coordinator

The Program coordinator and chair of AC meetings in AY 2005-2006 was Kevin Muse, Assistant Professor of Classics, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics. This was Dr. Muse's second year as Program coordinator.

III. Advisory Committee Meetings

The AC met once during AY 2005-2006, on May 5, 2006 at 12:00p.m.

IV. Student Petitions to the Advisory Committee

There were no student petitions to the AC in AY 2005-2006.

V. New Issues Considered by the CAMS Advisory Committee

1. The possible development of an introductory course in Ancient Mediterranean Studies, to be taught jointly by members of the CAMS faculty.
2. Better coordination of the scheduling of course offerings so that students are able to take a complement of courses that will allow them more easily to complete the certificate before graduation.
3. The design of a certificate of completion for students who have completed the CAMS Program.

No action was taken on these matters in AY 2005-2006. They will be addressed again next year, along with items listed in the last section of this report, "Ongoing Initiatives."

VI. CAMS Website

The CAMS website continued to play a vital role in CMAS this year. Several new students indicated that they had visited the CAMS website. Toward the close of AY 2005-2006, the CAMS Coordinator, in consultation with Homer Hruby in the College of Letters and Science Administration, began to collect information for an alumni page on the website.

VII. Program Coordinator Meetings

The CAMS Program coordinator, Kevin Muse, participated this year in meetings (February 17, 2006; March 27, 2006) with other certificate program coordinators in the College of Letters and Science. The purpose of these meetings was to discuss how the College might better support the administration of certificate programs.

CAMS and CAMS-Related Activities

I. Annual Orientation Meeting

The Program's annual CAMS orientation meeting took place on Monday, October 3, 2005 from 1:00-2:00p.m. in Curtin 839.

II. Lectures and Seminars

CAMS students participated in the following lectures and seminars, which were organized and/or delivered by CMAS faculty members in conjunction with the Working Group in Ancient Mediterranean Studies (WAMS):

Friday, September 30, 2005, 3:00-5:00pm, Curtin 939
Professor Richard Monti, UWM, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics (Classics)
"In the Manner of the Beast: Æneid 4.550-551"

Friday, October 28, 2005, 3:00-5:00pm, Curtin 939
Professor Gerhard Kurz, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany
Visiting Scholar, Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, UWM
"Translating the Greeks for the Moderns: The Case of Friedrich Hölderlin"

Friday, November 11, 2005, 1:30-3:30pm, Curtin 118
Professor Glen Thompson, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Department of History
"An Arian Emperor's Public Relations Campaign: Constantius II's Visit to Rome in 357"

Friday, December 2, 2005, 3:00-5:00pm, Curtin 939
Professor Bettina Arnold, UWM, Department of Anthropology
"Barbarians at the Gates: Interactions between West-Central Europe and the Mediterranean"

III. Other Activities

1. Study Abroad Opportunities. In an effort to promote study abroad opportunities for our students, we have had extensive discussions with the San Gemini Preservation Studies Program, administered by the Historic Preservation Institute in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning (SARUP) at UWM. Of particular interest to us is the opportunity for our students to participate in the excavation of a Roman-era site near San Gemini. To learn more about the San Gemini program, we invited one of its staff members, Mr. Nikos Vakalis, to give to our students an informational lecture entitled "Teaching Restoration in Italy: 'The San Gemini Experience'" (Friday, February 3, 2006, 1:00pm, Curtin 209). Although our efforts did not generate student interest in the program this year, we are pleased that a well-developed study abroad program in Italy is available to our students, and we will continue to promote it on our website and in our orientation meetings.
   
   
2. The Milwaukee Chapter of the American Institute of Archaeology (AIA) continues to offer opportunities for CAMS students and faculty members to attend free lectures delivered on campus by internationally recognized scholars. CAMS students also are invited regularly to participate in AIA-sponsored field trips in the Milwaukee area. This year, several CAMS students and faculty members participated in the AIA field trip to the Pompeii exhibition at the Field Museum in Chicago (March 18, 2006).

Ongoing Initiatives and the Future of CAMS

The CAMS Advisory Committee, coordinator, and faculty members continue to discuss and consider the following issues:

I. Recruitment efforts.

The annual orientation and recruitment meeting in the fall semester seems to be effective at stimulating significant student interest. Probably the most important recruitment tool is the classroom. CAMS faculty members will be encouraged to invite other CAMS faculty members into course meetings to speak about their areas of expertise and to promote the CAMS Program. CAMS faculty members also will be asked to provide links to the CAMS website in their course websites and syllabi.

II. The AC will look for ways to coordinate course scheduling.

The coordination of course scheduling among the departments that participate in the Program is essential so that scheduling conflicts do not prevent students from completing CAMS course requirements in a timely fashion. This is a challenging issue, because the departments participating in CAMS each have particular scheduling constraints. On the other hand, it is encouraging to note that three years into the program three students have been able to complete the certificate.

III. The AC would like to develop a policy on accepting courses for CAMS credit from other institutions.

It seems reasonable to accept up to two or three courses for transfer credit, but it does not seem advisable, for example, to award a CAMS certificate to a student who has taken eight of the required none courses at another institution.

IV. Development of a policy regarding the awarding of certificates retroactively.

Because many CAMS students enter the Program after their freshman year, and because the Program requires a total of 27 credits (i.e., nine courses), it is conceivable that a number of CAMS students will graduate lacking only one or two courses for completion of the certificate. Because some students, especially those who pursue graduate study in a CAMS-related field, may take at another institution courses equivalent to the requirements that they lack, it seems reasonable to offer certificates to those who can fulfill a modest number of outstanding requirements in a reasonable amount of time. This year two certificates were awarded to students completing one final course requirement at their graduate institutions. As time goes on, we may decide to formalize some credit-transfer guidelines (e.g., a limit on the number of courses that can be accepted from other institutions, time limits for completion, etc.) for these students.

V. We plan to continue coordinating our efforts to purchase library materials.

We are concerned especially that journal subscriptions not be cut any further, and that some essential materials be restored to the library budget. The Program Coordinator was informed in the summer of 2006 that a journal (Hermes) that had been cancelled mistakenly during a round of budget cuts in 2003 will be restored to the list of journals to which the library subscribes.

VI. Development of the CAMS web page.

We continue to improve the CAMS website. An alumni feature will go online this year.

VII. Financial Support.

One of the greatest challenges for CAMS in its early years has been administering and growing the program in the absence of financial resources. We were very pleased, therefore, to learn in July, 2006 that a member of the community and a frequent student in CAMS courses, Dr. Alan Goldberg, made a generous financial donation to the College of Letters and Science in the amount of $1000. Dr. Goldberg requested that these funds be used to support Ancient Mediterranean Studies, and in making the donation he cited the high quality of our faculty and course offerings. We look forward to discussing in the next year how best to use this new resource.

Summary

In conclusion, AY 2005-2006 has been another successful year for CAMS. With our broad range of courses on the ancient Mediterranean world, we continue to generate substantial student and community interest in our program. Through our links with the Working Group in Ancient Mediterranean Studies (WAMS) and the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), we have been able to offer a variety of extracurricular activities for certificate students. We are confident that CAMS is making a positive contribution to the university's offerings and its image in the community, and we look forward to furthering the aims of the program in the coming year.