The Department of Classics is fortunate to have at its disposal the Prescott W. Townsend Memorial Fund, established by his widow, Daphne Townsend, in 1982. Prescott W. Townsend (1893-1961) obtained a BA from Cornell University (1916) and a PhD from Yale University (1926). He taught ancient history at University of Indiana between 1919 and 1959. He wrote his dissertation on the administration of Gordian III and was a recognized specialist of Roman Africa.
Since 1985, income from the fund has been used to support lectures given by scholars of international reputation. The lectures, revised for publication, are published by Cornell University Press in the series Cornell Studies in Classical Philology.
