R. Leon Fitts, Asbury J. Clarke Professor of Classical Studies
For more than 30 years, Dickinson students have been privileged to learn ancient Greek
history and Roman British archaeology from Dr. Fitts. His vivid style of historical illumination
and his contagious enthusiasm for the material have challenged and lifted the intellects
and the spirits of two generations of students. For many, he held the keys to unlocking
the secrets of a remote past that was otherwise dead and buried.
It has been 23 summers since we walked along Hadrian’s Wall and stared out at
the empty desolation of the upland moors in the rain; too much time has fallen away since
we climbed Durham Cathedral and admired the arrow-straight cut of a Roman road. Yet I
can still remember the irreverent story Dr. Fitts told about the bust of Pericles in
the British Museum and his unflinching description of the Peloponnesian War. At these
interchanges, he was far more than some dusty usher at Thermopylae. He taught us that
by understanding the past we could hope to uncloud the future.
Admittedly, most of us did not follow our graduation from Dickinson with careers in
archaeology. Most of our careers have been far less prosaic and colorful. (I am a partner
in the mergers and acquisitions section of the law firm of Cohen & Grigsby in Pittsburgh
and director of the business-practice group.) Dr. Fitts provided access to something
far more universal and important than the mastery of any single topic. He gave us tools
of bearing and confidence in a reckless time. He was a role model during a dangerous
period for emerging adults. He led in the classroom, and he led on the excavation sites,
and he led us by gallant example, but more than anything, he managed to show us a world
bright with hope and possibility. That is the highest and finest use of every teacher.
Chris Carson ’82
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