It is my sad duty to inform you that Philip N. Lockhart, emeritus Asbury J. Clarke Chair of Latin, died on February 20, 2011 at the Forest Park Health Center in Carlisle. Phil is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ayer Lockhart, son, Dr. Bruce Lockhart, daughter, Betsy Wood, and her husband, Jeff Wood.

Phil, a native of Pennsylvania, earned his B.A. in English with honors, and Phi Beta Kappa distinction, from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950. After his undergraduate work, he received his M.A. in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina in 1951 and went on to receive his Ph.D. in classical languages and archaeology at Yale University in 1959.

Before joining the faculty at Dickinson in 1963, Phil was a missionary teacher at the Ezel Mission School in Kentucky and also taught at the University of Missouri, the Ohio State University and at the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed the chair of the department of classical studies in 1965 and was appointed the Asbury J. Clarke Chair of Latin in 1971. After 27 years of teaching at Dickinson, Phil retired in 1990 at which time he was awarded professor emeritus of classical languages and emeritus Asbury J. Clarke Chair of Latin.

Phil was beloved by students across the years for his expertise, lively and challenging classroom, and his deep interest in his students. Under his tutelage the study of the classics at Dickinson grew and flourished. He established a curriculum founded on Greek and Latin majors and insisted that the study of Biblical Hebrew be included in the curriculum. This earned him quite a reputation in the field, and he was often invited as an outside evaluator and consultant for undergraduate classics programs across the country.

Phil received many awards and honors during his career including Honorable Mention by the Distinguished Teacher Award Committee of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the United Methodist Church in 1974. He was also the first winner of the Constance and Rose Ganoe Memorial Award for inspirational teaching in 1969, which he promptly used to assist in establishing the John David Wright III Memorial Scholarship in Classical Studies. He went on to receive the Ganoe Award two additional times in 1973 and 1981, making him the only three-time winner of this student-voted prize.

While at Dickinson, Phil served on various committees and also served as Faculty Secretary in 1966-68. He often assisted in preparing the Latin wording for the honorary degrees that were given at Commencement every year as well as assisted with the planning of the Baccalaureate Ceremony. Phil also established the Philip N. Lockhart Book Prize in Classical Studies that is still awarded to an outstanding graduate majoring in classical studies today. In addition to these and many other commitments at Dickinson, he was president of the Philadelphia Classical Society and the Pennsylvania Classical Association, a member of the American Philological Association, a founding member of the South Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, and served on evaluation teams for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction.

Phil was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church in Carlisle and served several terms as an elder as well as 40 years as a member of its Sanctuary Choir. Additionally, he taught in the community Sunday School teacher training programs and served on the Presbytery Committee on Christian Vocations and Candidate Review.

A ceremony of committal will be held at the Gilgal Presbyterian Church cemetery, 638 Gilgal Road, Marion Center, Pennsylvania on Friday, February 25, 2011 at 11 a.m. A memorial service will be held at Second Presbyterian Church, 528 Garland Drive, Carlisle on Friday, March 4, 2011 at 11 a.m.

Please join me in expressing our most sincere sadness over this loss to the Dickinson community and in celebrating the many years Phil gave in devoted service to the college.

Bill Durden ’71
President

A new web site created by Prof. Francese, Brendan Boston (‘11), and Alice Ettling (’12) has attracted positive attention from The Classical Outlook, the journal of the  American Classical League. CO’s “Clearing House” column in the latest issue includes a round-up of resources useful for the coming revised version of the AP Latin Exam, which includes portions of the Gallic War: 

By far, the most student-friendly project currently available online for students reading the new Advanced Placement Latin curriculum is Dickinson College's Department of Classical Studies "Wikimedia-based commentary on De Bello Gallico.  Created and edited by Professor Christopher Francese using the free Mediawiki software package (http://www.mediawiki.org) and lovingly dubbed "Veni Vidi WIKI", this collaborative site consists of a growing collection of notes and relevant multimedia keyed to selections from Caesar's most famous work.  (A wiki is a website that makes it possible for users to create collaboratively and edit a set of web pages using a web browser.)  The digital source of the Latin text for the Dickinson Classics project is a public domain edition of Bellum Gallicum provided by The Latin Library  (http://thelatinlibrary.com/) and altered to line up with Renatus Dupontet's 1900 Oxford Classical Text.  The extensive grammatical and contextual notes are drawn from a large number of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century high school and college level textbooks and collated sentence by sentence, making it easy for students to use.  Links to full, online editions of these texts are provided whenever possible for further consultation.  Teachers and students will appreciate the expanding selection of ancillary materials, including maps, artwork, graphics, mp3 audio, and glossaries.  Especially noteworthy is a downloadable computerized video animation created by student Alice Ettling and narrated by Professor Francese to accompany Caesar's opening description of Gaul (Book 1.1-7). 

Professor Francese suggests a number of ways that teachers and students can use this resource.  This wiki can be used in place of, or as a supplement to, a traditional textbook, with the considerable benefit of being both free and updatable.  Students who prefer using a bound book can use the site solely for its running vocabulary and grammar hints, while internet savvy individuals who have made the transition to working and studying "in the cloud"  can skip visiting the college bookstore altogether and use the site exclusively on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.  In the classroom, teachers can utilize smart board technology to view and highlight the text, display graphics and play audio and video for everyone.  It certainly goes without saying that it would be ideal for use in a distance learning course.  Professor Francese plans future additions to the site in the next year, including a side-by-side comparison of Roman customs with Gallic customs as detailed by Caesar in Book 6.  The possibilities for this educational wiki are limitless--and that's where you come in!  Because this is a Wiki, anyone can set up an account to enter additional material.  Professor Francese invites qualified readers to feel free to make corrections or contribute material to this project, with the proviso that any additions must be from the public domain, and free from copyright restriction.   A project like this has great potential, and it will be fascinating to see what sort of additions and enhancements the users of this site will make to it over time. 

Sharon Kazmierski, The Classical Outlook 88 (Fall 2010), p. 28.