03/24/2008
In Memoriam: MCL Faculty Member Passes Away
Allen Ross Scaife, died of cancer March 15 in his home. He was 47 years old.
Ross was a full professor in the department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and a leading scholar in the College. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1982, received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990, and taught at UK from 1991 onwards. He was a pioneer in the use of digital technology in the humanities, internationally known for his work in this area.
He believed strongly in the power of technology to disseminate research to wide audiences and in the obligation of scholars to make their work freely available. In pursuit of these beliefs, he founded (in 1997) and edited the Stoa Consortium for Electronic Publication in the Humanities. This resource is a landmark in the open access publication of digitalized humanities scholarship. Among the works of his own research available there are Diotima: Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World and the collection, Neo-Latin Colloquia. Scaife was also founding editor of Suda On Line, a web accessible database for work on Byzantine Greek lexicography and also spearheaded the digital imaging of the Venetus A, a 10th-century manuscript of the Iliad located at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. Most recently, he was co-Principal Investigator of a project that uses virtual scanning technology to “unwrap” and to visualize ancient papyrus scrolls. Scaife received many grants from NSF, FIPSE, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation in support of these efforts.
At UK, Professor Scaife taught courses on Greek and Roman art, Aegean prehistory, Thucydides, various Greek and Roman authors, as well as Greek and Latin. He served on numerous University and Arts and Sciences committees and was deeply involved in policy-making regarding the use of computers at the University. He was also a dedicated public citizen in his home department, serving, among many other things, as the Director of Graduate Studies in Classics for five years.
Those who knew Ross will remember his sunny manner, keen insight, helpfulness, and comradeship. Ross is survived by his beloved family—Cathy Edwards Scaife, his three sons, Lincoln (16), Adrian (13), and Russell (9), his parents, William and Sylvia Scaife, and three siblings, Bill Scaife, Susan Duerksen, and John Scaife.
A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 1:00pm at Memorial Hall at the University of Kentucky Memorial donations may be made to the Swift/Longacre Scholarship Fund which provides support for students of classical studies at the University of Kentucky. Please make checks payable to the University of Kentucky and send in care of Dr. Jane Phillips, Department of MCLLC, 1055 Patterson Office Tower, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506. Donations may also be sent to a college fund for his sons. Make checks payable to Scaife Scholarship Fund and mail to Chase, 727 E. Euclid Avenue, Lexington, KY, 40502.