Family and friends of McKenzie (Mac) Lewis are establishing the C. McKenzie (Mac) Lewis Memorial Classics Fund in memory of their Son, Brother, Spouse, Father, Friend and Colleague. Mac had reached a point in his life and career where he was having a growing and profound impact on his students and colleagues as a teacher, mentor, and leader for student involvement in Archeology. Unfortunately, his career – as well as his loving personal life and friendships - were cut short when he died unexpectedly in March 2020 at age 45.

Mac Lewis found his passion in study of and teaching Classics. In particular, he was an enthusiastic hands-on Roman Archeologist – through which he pursued his curiosity about Roman ‘colonization’; finding evidence about the timing, events and process through which Rome was influenced by, assimilated and managed peoples, places, economic activity and culture into the Roman empire.

This Memorial Classics Fund in his name will support Student Awards at University of Waterloo and University of Guelph as well as Field Study Awards through Classical Association of Middle West and South (CAMWS). These Awards will help bring these interests to future explorers and students who want to experience the search and discovery of enduring Classical ideas as well as learning about the exciting places of antiquity – ‘the rooms where it happened’, to appropriate a phrase.

If you are an American citizen and would like a U.S. tax receipt, please contact Mac & Mary Lewis at mac.lewis@gmail.com.

If you would like to learn more about the C. McKenzie (Mac) Lewis Memorial Classics Fund, please contact WRCF at 519-725-1806 or info@wrcf.ca.

Please continue reading below to learn more
about Mac’s history, as told by family and friends.

An archaeologist specializing in ancient Roman locations, Mac was a much beloved teacher and colleague. He earned his B.A. at the University of Montana, his M. Ed. in Latin at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at Florida State University. His teaching career took him from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools to the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, John Cabot University in Rome, the University of Wyoming, Concordia College-Moorhead, and then most recently in Canada, the University of Waterloo and University of Guelph.

From 2012 until his death, he was Director of the Villa del Vergigno Archaeological Project near Florence, where he introduced 25 to 40 interns and students each year to the techniques, discipline and excitement of hands-on archeology.

Mac Lewis enjoyed Classical myths while growing up. This led to his fascination with philosophers which was the doorway through which he developed his interest in the Classics. As he learned more of the stories, culture, history, leadership, politics, expansion and adventure of these civilizations he developed a passion for learning more about them and, how this knowledge can impact our perceptions and experiences in today’s world. We are proud of the feedback from his former and current students about how he engaged them in a classical legacy – to better understand our collective cultural history.

Mac could get “nerdy” and expand on the nuances of philosophy and lessons for today from Roman history. As an example, In discussions of how personal values seem to be selectively embraced in our modern society – maybe like tools that people adopt, or don’t as they wish, to seek personal goals -  he would bring up and expand on a discussion of the Roman conception of  “Virtus” – derived from the Latin word for “man” (vir). To the ancient Romans, Virtus is a type of public conduct - encompassing valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, worth – which is reflected not by personal gain, but by personal acts, and those of one’s ancestors, in pursuit of the greater good. 

As another example – A question about the conceptual phrase “Crossing the Rubicon” could migrate to a discussion of Julius Caesar’s risk assessment - either as an opportunistic personal grab for power, or a calculated response to popular support to overthrow an entrenched corrupt ruling elite – or, a combination of these. Digging into this history to understand the context provides wonderful leadership examples for modern power brokers, politicians, business-people, professionals, educators – and students who may fill these roles in the future.

Remembering a Gem: - Mary Lewis

I’ve been fortunate to work in a museum; I have come to recognize rare gems and obscure treasures.  McKenzie was like these.

McKenzie’s passion was Early Roman Archeology (200 BCE – 200 AD).  He loved teaching students Latin, Roman/Greek history, culture and (how to) write well (!).

He had the license to a “dig” in Montelupo Fiorentino where he took students every summer to learn about archeology, the art of digging a site, and all the peripherals that go with it (like the art of cataloging even the minutest found items).  Montelupo is the farthest eastern town up the Arno River that is navigable. Ships in Roman times destined for Florence docked at Montelupo and manually carted the cargo to Florence. Because of this the town was loaded with objects discarded, dropped, left behind by the Romans; a great place to dig for artifacts that gave meaning to life in Roman times.  McKenzie’s love was figuring out the layout of the town itself and why buildings’ placements were located where they were.

Being connected to a museum as a docent, it was gratifying to see McKenzie as an archeological student become impressed with Museum’s Tiber Muse. Tiber Muse is a 2nd – 1st C. BCE statue of a woman with beautifully carved draped clothing. He was so impressed that she was in our collection. Every term break when he trekked home he’d go visit the Muse and revel in its style and workmanship.  What fun for a parent – and a docent – to see a young person feeling the excitement of appreciating a piece that captures a part of yourself.

Loving culture, art, history, McKenzie talked about it all – even how to capture audience engagement.  With him, there was never a lag in a conversation.

If you have endured this musing of mine, I thank you.  I thought you might understand --being a museum person yourself-- the gut-wrenching sadness of losing a gem (of a person). This rambling is like me curating my son in a vitrine in the middle of a gallery, focusing some light on him and saying, “don’t miss this one, he’s worth a look.”

Now I better understand the difficulty that institutions have in giving back treasures to the location of origin.  It is just so hard after having a gem, conserving it, polishing it, having it be an important fabric of your existence, to give it back to its original source.  It hurts so much.

Vanitas

- Mary Lewis

Former Student: - Layne Cole

I got to know Mac while at Concordia College, from which I graduated in 2018. I’m now at Hamline University in St. Paul for my Masters in Teaching; along the way, I spent several seasons in Italy on Mac’s dig. It makes me so happy that scholarships are being put together in Mac’s honor.

Here is copy of a cameo he had in an essay I wrote for an education course: “My college advisor, Dr. McKenzie Lewis “Mac”, holds a special place in my heart. If I can become half the teacher that he was, my students will be incredibly lucky. Through my four years of undergraduate studies I knew that Mac would challenge me with seemingly impossible tasks, offer encouragement and insight at just the right time, and share my excitement and pride once the task at hand was complete. He believed in me. He trusted me enough to let me take a shovel to his ancient Roman archaeological site. I used the knowledge he imparted to then in turn teach students in the field. He surpassed the role of teacher and became a close friend, always encouraging me to not give up on my dreams. I wish that I had the opportunity to tell Mac that he is one of my largest inspirations for finally committing to teaching. He died unexpectedly in the beginning of March this year. I am still reeling at the fact that I will be going into my first few years of teaching without being able to ask for his advice. However, I know that the best way to honor his memory will be to become the best educator I can be.”

From first getting to know Mac when I sheepishly called him Dr. Lewis, to forming a friendship, every moment spent with him was enlightening and/or entertaining. He had an infectious personality, which must have been contagious - to the point that his friends Peter and Amanda commented on how I sounded remarkably like Mac when I gave them a tour of Rome. I credit him for my explosive passion for the Ancient World and hope to inspire my future students to chase their dreams, just as Mac did for me. 

Memories from the Italy Dig: - Samantha Teubner (Mac’s niece):

Being a part of McKenzie‘s archaeological dig in Italy was truly life-changing. I’m absolutely certain it put me on the path to majoring in global studies now, and I don’t think I would have the same perspective and appreciation that I do today without that experience. I loved subtly bragging about the fact that my uncle was an actual, real-life archaeologist, and that when I was a teenager I was able to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience working at an actual, real-life archaeological dig. I also really admired his passion for what he learned and taught. I was really looking forward to being able to continue my educational career and talk with McKenzie about all the things that I was learning, but keeping him in my memory has served as a great motivator and I hope he knows, somehow, what an influence he had on me.

One memorable thing for me was when the local newspaper in Montelupo published an article about McKenzie’s dig on the first page. I remember McKenzie sort of rolling his eyes at the fact that the headline read “Indiana Jones” haha!

I have a necklace that one of the people that worked with McKenzie on the dig made and then gave to all of us who participated. I recall how willing to teach McKenzie and all of his students were, and how everybody on the dig made me feel welcome. The dig was hard work: physical labor under the Tuscan sun during the hottest hours of the day. However, McKenzie made sure that everyone was safe and well hydrated, and he had a knack for keeping us motivated and invested by sharing his passion and his knowledge with us. At the end of every hard-working day we would gather at the Villa, the owners of which adored McKenzie, and we would have dinner together. Dinner was always filled with a lot of laughter, just the right amount of drama, and truly the most delicious food I have ever had the pleasure of eating.

Finding a Coin is the Best: - Amanda Savage

When we were in Italy with Mac, he told us that the best artifact an archaeologist could find was a coin because that provided definitive evidence of the date of a site. The thing I found most endearing about this conversation was that Mac told us that every time he passes by a construction site, he tosses a coin from his pocket into the site in hopes of providing a future archeologist a “dream find”. Such a nerdy, kind, and forward-thinking thing to do. It’s something I’ve thought of often as a way that we can carry Mac’s legacy into the future by giving a little nugget of good fortune to future scholars long after we have left this place we call home. 

When we had concrete poured in our driveway last November, we had each of our girls place a coin from their birth year in the wet concrete.

Value of a Classical Education – in today’s “STEM” society: - David Schenker, Assoc Professor of Classics, University of Missouri and President of Classical Association of Middle West and South (CAMWS)

I teach at a large public University, many of my students (and their parents) are interested, first and foremost, in how their education will get them a job. That’s fine and understandable.

I could speak at length about the study of the ancient world as a means toward becoming a better citizen and a happier or more fulfilled human being. We could talk about the continuity of ideas, from the ancients to the present, and the influence of the ancient Mediterranean on so many facets of contemporary life: politics, philosophy, literature, language. We could talk about the process of self-discovery, self-knowledge – basically, just growing up – that happens when a young person is forced to confront and consider alien customs, beliefs, languages, and ways of living. We could talk about the fact that studying these ‘others’, so like us in some ways and yet so distant, that encountering these ideas and customs far different from our own prepares us for managing in an ever more diverse world. You can search ‘Why study Classics’ on the web and find statements from a number of schools and departments that express these ideas eloquently.

But, usually I find it better use of time to talk about jobs, not just what a Classics or Classical Archaeology student might possibly do with that degree, but what our students have actually done, and are doing now with that degree. Some few went on to graduate school and are now academics at the college and university level. A few more teach at the high school level (as I know Mac did for several years), where there’s a great need for Latin and Classics teachers. But the vast majority have gone into careers that might seem unrelated to their study of antiquity. I begin with the truth that studying Classics and Classical Archaeology is not easy. Any student who pursues a degree in this area will necessarily become a better writer, speaker, and critical thinker. Those are transferable skills, increasingly valuable in an ever-changing workplace where most training is done on the job.

Generally, on the earning power of a humanities degree, I still look back to a somewhat dated Forbes article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/01/22/majoring-in-the-humanities-does-pay-off-just-later/#24f25a6a655b

And a few specific careers:

Doctors: we’ve had many double majors in Classics and some scientific area. To a person, they say that their Classics background is what comes up in medical school interviews, placement in residency programs, and finally jobs. Dr. Anthony Fauci was a Classics major, and credits that training for his success. Here’s a recent article that links to a few others on Fauci: https://canes.wisc.edu/2020/04/17/dr-fauci-influenced-by-the-ancients/

Lawyers: we have lots of those, too. There’s some statistical evidence that a classics major is the best preparation for the LSAT: https://testmaxprep.com/blog/lsat/best-majors-for-law-school

Software designer: no web link here, but some good anecdotal evidence. One classics major knew little about technology when she graduated, but was hired by a tech start-up since she could write and speak more cogently than those who were writing code. She gained technical expertise on the job and is now in a management position.

Pharmaceutical sales rep: One major quickly moved up in the company ranks when it became clear that she could not only understand all the medical jargon, but even figure out the uses of some of the products from their names

Financial advisor:  The founder of a local financial advising firm, himself a Classics major, has funded our annual Ancient Greek prize, and presses us annually for recent graduates he might hire. Business majors, he says, might have learned a particular set of skills, but Classics majors have learned how to think.

We’ve also had students go into advertising, editing, museum studies, theater work, and one (I recently learned) has opened the only Kansas City style BBQ restaurant in Amsterdam (shameless plug: https://pendergast.nl/). There’s a world of possibilities.

I have been speaking of classics, classical archaeology, and study of the ancient Mediterranean somewhat interchangeably. The study of Classics – and Classic associations, like CAMWS - is where all aspects of that ancient world come together: literary, historical, philosophical and archaeological. There is something special, though, about contact with the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean. We can go only so far in making that world come alive in our classrooms in the US. If we can persuade a student to travel, study, or work in the Mediterranean, almost inevitably we have that student hooked. Our undergraduates who go on digs or study abroad trips have often never left the state, much less the country. They call those experiences life-changing. As graduating seniors, and even alumni years later, they comment on those experiences as the highlights of their education.

Our university, like many others, has made study abroad experiences a priority, and has tried to make them affordable, but cost is still the number one reason students do not go abroad for study or field experience. It is no surprise, then, that the CAMWS field excavation awards are so much in demand.