Honorary Degrees of Retiring Faculty
Daniel J. Taylor, professor of Classics, 2007
"Daniel J. Taylor, it is a pleasure and an honor to recognize you upon your retirement from the faculty of Lawrence University.
You first came to Lawrence as a student, graduating with Honors in Classics. After earning an MA and a PhD from the University of Washington, you joined the faculty at the University of Illinois. In 1974 you returned to your home, Lawrence University. For almost a quarter of a century, you have been at the core of a remarkable Classics program. Generations of students have flocked to your courses and benefited from your enormous love for classical literature and language, your articulate and witty lectures, and your inexhaustible knowledge. In an age when many Classics programs have had difficulty attracting the interest of college and university students, you have helped make Lawrence’s program an unparalleled success through your great devotion and your creative spirit. The recent Classics Week program that included the staging of a play on the steps of Main hall is just one example of your great and good work as a teacher and lover of classics.
You have established yourself as a world known authority on Varro, and have published two books on his work, along with over a dozen related articles. You are also the editor of 'The History of Linguistics in the Classical Period,' and co-author of 'Foreign Languages at the Middle Level.' Among your many other publications are papers on Greek grammar, Latin grammar, and one of your other loves: baseball.
Your work has led to many honors: You received two research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and you were the first Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Linguistics at the University of Trieste. Other awards include the National Award for Excellence in Teaching the Classics from the American Philological Association and the Distinguished Foreign Language Educator of the Year by the Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers. Here at Lawrence, you have been recognized with our Excellent Teaching Award.
Your work has provided a wonderful model of how devotion to literature—to a celebration of the best that has been written- leads to a life of fulfillment. On behalf of all members of the Lawrence University community, I offer my profound thanks for your extraordinary contributions to liberal education and to the life of the mind.
By the authority vested in me, I now confer upon you the degree of Master of Arts, ad eundem, and admit you to its rights, privileges, and obligations."