Dr. Lynne Lancaster
Archaeologist, architectural historian, and educator Dr. Lynne C. Lancaster (2002 Fellow) has been selected as the next Andrew W. Mellon Professor-in-Charge of the Humanities at the American Academy in Rome.
Lancaster is currently Professor and Chair of the Classics & World Religions Department at Ohio University.
“Congratulations to Dr. Lancaster on her appointment to this prestigious position in Rome. She has shared her passion for ancient Rome with many students here at OHIO, and now she will be sharing her expertise with an international audience. Lynne is one of the foremost scholars and we are proud to have her as part of the Ohio University family,” said Dr. M. Duane Nellis, Ohio University President.
The appointment was announced Jan. 24 by AAR President Mark Robbins and was based on the recommendation of a national search committee. Lancaster’s term in Rome begins Aug. 1, 2018, and she succeeds art historian Lindsay Harris (2014 Fellow), who completes her three-year term this summer.
“The Search Committee was impressed with Lynne’s scholarship and her potential in the role of Mellon Professor,” said Robbins (1997 Fellow). “The cross-disciplinary arc of Lynne’s academic career, along with her intellectual rigor and enthusiasm, will be an asset for the entire Academy community.”
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Professor Lancaster and reflects her international reputation as a leading scholar of Ancient Rome as well as the quality of our Classics and World Religions Department,” said Dean Robert Frank of the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University. “Having her at the American Academy will provide OHIO faculty and students with some great opportunities as well.”
“I am truly honored to be chosen as Mellon Professor of the Humanities,” said Lancaster. “My time at the Academy, both as Fellow and a Visiting Scholar, has been critical in my own personal and intellectual development. I now look forward to helping our Fellows discover all that the city of Rome and its people have to offer.”
Lancaster received a B.Arch. (magna cum laude) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, an M.Phil. in Classical Archaeology from Lincoln College at Oxford University, and a D.Phil. in Classical Archaeology from Wolfson College, also at Oxford. Known for her research and exploration of Roman architecture and technology, with a focus on concrete vaulted construction, Lancaster was the 2001–2002 Phyllis W. G. Gordan Rome Prize Fellow in Ancient Studies (formerly referred to as Classical Studies).
“Lynne brings a deep knowledge of Rome and its history through the ages, as well as a personal dedication to the broader community of the American Academy in Rome,” said Academy Director John Ochsendorf (2008 Fellow). “She is an ideal partner to help us build upon the humanities in the coming years.”
Lancaster is the author of Innovative Vaulting in the Architecture of the Roman Empire, 1st to 4th Centuries CE (Cambridge University Press, 2015), in which she used vaulted construction as a means of exploring issues of technology transfer and trade networks within the Empire. Her first publication, Concrete Vaulted Construction in Imperial Rome: Innovations in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2005), which she completed during her Rome Prize Fellowship, was awarded the 2007 James R. Wiseman Book Award from the Archaeological Institute of America. In addition to her numerous international collaborations, Lancaster currently serves as a member of the American Journal of Archaeology’s editorial board and on the Construction History Society’s Scientific Committee. She is chair of the Fellowships Committee of the Archaeological Institute of America, for which she also served as an Academic Trustee (2011–2016).
About the American Academy in Rome & the Rome Prize
Founded in 1894, the American Academy in Rome is the leading international center for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. A not-for-profit, privately
funded institution, AAR annually offers the Rome Prize Fellowships and Italian Fellowships to a
select group of artists and scholars, after an application process that begins each fall. The
winners, selected by independent juries through a national competition process, are invited to
Rome the following year to pursue their work in an atmosphere conducive to intellectual and
artistic experimentation and interdisciplinary exchange. Fellowships are offered in the following
categories: Literature, Music Composition, Visual Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture,
Design, and Historic Preservation and Conservation, as well as Ancient, Medieval,
Renaissance and Early Modern, and Modern Italian Studies. To date, AAR has fueled critical
thinking, research, and work for over 1,700 artists and scholars who are leaders in their fields
and whose rich and significant output continues to fill museums, concert halls, libraries, and
universities, across the United States and around the world.
In addition to the Rome Prize winners and Italian Fellows, AAR invites a select group of
Residents, Affiliated Fellows, and Visiting Artists and Scholars to work within this exceptional
community in Rome.
To learn more about the Rome Prize, the Italian Fellowships, and other programs at the
American Academy in Rome, please visit www.aarome.org.
For more information, please contact:
Marques McClary: +1 212-751-7200 (ext. 342), email: m.mcclary@aarome.org
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