IPCAA History
The study of the material culture of the Classical
lands reaches back to the very beginnings of the
University of Michigan. When its Ann Arbor campus
opened in 1841, the faculty included just two
professors (one in Greek and Latin Languages,
the other in Mathematics), and the earliest freshman
curriculum included courses in Greek and Roman
antiquities. Classical Studies at Michigan has
in fact always been understood, and taught, as
an entirety, embracing not only Classical languages,
literature, and culture, but material culture
too: archaeology, art history, numismatics, epigraphy,
papyrology, etc. Of great importance in this respect
was Francis Kelsey (Professor of Latin, 1889-1927),
whose tireless acquisition of antiquities provided
the core of the University’s extraordinary
papyrological and archaeological holdings: the
museum building in which IPCAA now has its home
appropriately bears his name.
Interdisciplinary programs or “graduate
groups” are now quite common, but IPCAA
(along with its peer program at the University
of California at Berkeley) was perhaps one of
the earliest to be created in Classical Art and
Archaeology, in 1968-69. The 1960s were a period
of substantial expansion in higher education,
and the national educational structure at that
time seemed to need more well-trained Ph.D.s in
Classical Archaeology. Michigan was already offering
a significant number of courses in Greek and Roman
archaeology, and the Kelsey Museum provided an
outstanding, but under-utilized, resource for
hands-on learning; on the other hand, the existing
doctoral programs in the Departments of Classical
Studies and of The History of Art were not very
well suited for those whose primary interests
lay in art and archaeology. This was the rationale
for the establishment of a new interdepartmental
“Program in Classical Archaeology”,
formally approved by the Graduate School on 4
March 1969.
 The
Program did not run very smoothly during its first
2 or 3 years of operation, leading to some reorganization
and changes of emphasis in the early 1970s —
in particular, greater involvement of faculty
in anthropological archaeology and Near Eastern
Studies, more intensive use of the Kelsey Museum
and its collections (under the Directorship of
John Pedley), and the identification of Roman
archaeology as a particular specialization at
Michigan. The latter decision was made a reality
through two new appointments in 1974: Elaine Gazda
(in Roman art) and John Humphrey (in Roman architecture
and archaeology). To some extent, this move built
on existing strength, given the presence at Michigan
of a leading expert in Roman numismatics (Ted
Buttrey) and a major player in Roman epigraphy
and social history (John D’Arms). The new
Near Eastern element in the Program’s identity
was reinforced, shortly thereafter, by a joint
appointment in History of Art and the Kelsey for
Margaret Cool Root, while Sharon Herbert’s
arrival at about this time added strength to art
and archaeology teaching on the Greek side. Additional
later expansion included the appointments in 1989
of Thelma Thomas (Late Antique, Early Christian,
and Byzantine) and David Mattingly, and in 1992
of his replacement, Sue Alcock (both in Roman
and landscape archaeology); and in 1993 John Humphrey’s
resignation (to devote himself full-time to editing
the Journal of Roman Archaeology) made
possible John Cherry’s appointment, thus
expanding the range of IPCAA’s faculty to
include Mediterranean prehistory. Following the
retirement in 2001 of John Pedley (one of the
five members of the original IPCAA Executive Committee
established in 1969), Lisa Nevett, whose interests
lie in Greek archaeology, was appointed to a position
held jointly in Classical Studies and The History
of Art. IPCAA’s “core” faculty
are thus now split evenly between its two sponsoring
departments.
Many developments throughout the 1980s and 1990s
have brought the Program to its current position
of strength. A basement-to-attic rebuild of the
Kelsey Museum resulted not only in greatly improved
collections storage, but in much-expanded space
and facilities for IPCAA students to call their
own (especially the Hosmer Laboratory in the basement
area); a further major expansion of available
exhibition space , to take place over the next
several years, is currently in the early stages
of planning. The Michigan tradition of fieldwork
has continued unabated, with major programs of
Kelsey-sponsored
activity at Carthage and Leptiminus in Tunisia,
Coptos and Abydos in Egypt, Tel Anafa and Kedesh
in Israel, Pylos in Greece, Paestum in Italy,
and Vorotan in Armenia. New funds have been located
to provide improved financial assistance to IPCAA
students participating in such projects. Extra
Fellowship funds have been made available (in
1969 the program was supported with a single Fellowship
of $2,000!). Major curricular reforms have taken
place in recent years, to keep the Program fresh
and up-to-date. And additional top-notch faculty
have been recruited in all of IPCAA’s supporting
and cognate departments — to name just one
example, Near Eastern Studies has seen appointments,
within the past decade or so, to new positions
in Dynastic Egyptology, Roman and Coptic Egyptology,
Mesopotamian History and Archaeology, Hittite
and Mesopotamian Studies, and Ancient West Asian
Cultures. The Department of Classical Studies
has for a number of years appointed a Visiting
Assistant Professor in Classical Archaeology.
Now close to its 40th year, IPCAA has built a
well-deserved reputation for the excellence of
its students, faculty, and resources, as well
as for the distinctive interdepartmental training
in Classical Art & Archaeology that it provides
— encouraging imaginative approaches, interdisciplinary
perspectives, and the exploration of new areas,
while not neglecting the fundamental skills and
core areas of knowledge that are the sine
qua non for success in finding professional
positions.
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