First it was cryptic. Then it was surreal. Finally it was humbling.
Those were the thoughts of Jeremy Hartnett ’96, the Charles D. and Elizabeth S. LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, at Awards Chapel as Dean of the College Todd McDorman read the description of the 2025 McLain-McTurnan-Arnold (MMA) Excellence in Teaching Award winner.
“Oh no, it’s me, isn’t it?” Hartnett recalls saying to himself in the moment. “I’m not sure I deserve this. Partly because of the esteem I have for my colleagues and the very high standard I have for teaching.”
For Hartnett, the essence of his work is helping students define what college can be.
“Our students are hungry to learn,” he says. “If you tell them we have daily homework and quizzes in Latin 101, they say, ‘OK,’ and rise to the challenge.”
He thrives on teaching anywhere and everywhere—lecture halls, museums, and archaeological sites—and guiding students to see for themselves. A visit to a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Lafayette, Indiana, for instance, becomes a lesson in how space shapes human interaction, a skill students can later apply to ancient Greek and Roman contexts.
“Years from now, they may not remember the floor plan of a Greek house, but they’ll remember learning to look closely and think critically,” he says.
Hartnett’s fascination with the ancient world began long before his teaching career. When he was 12, he traveled to Italy with his mother, who was an administrative assistant to Bill Cook ’66, for a National Endowment for the Humanities seminar. The group studied the life of St. Francis through text and art, spending two transformative weeks in Siena.
“I grew up in Geneseo, New York, a town of 6,000 people, so Siena with its festivals, crowded streets, and long tables of neighborhood dinners was unlike anything I’d ever experienced,” he says. “It sparked my love of Italy and my interest in social history—seeing how the past is still present in daily life.”
Those neighborhood dinners, staged in preparation for Siena’s famous horse race, the Palio di Siena, left a lasting impression.
“Long tables, grandma’s pasta, everyone kicking in to fund the neighborhood association,” he says. “It was authentic, face-to-face community. That feeling has stuck with me.”
As a Wabash student in the mid-1990s, Hartnett took Roman Art and Archaeology with John Fischer in his freshman year, learning more concretely about layers of Italian history he had seen previously.
Returning to Wabash as a professor in 2004 solidified his teaching identity. Initially, he felt the weight of the Classics department’s storied legacy—from Fischer to Joe and Leslie Day and David Kubiak. He felt honored to continue, but also challenged.
“At first, I was following my professors’ methods even when it wasn’t authentic to me,” he admits. “It took time to grow into my own scholarly skin. The key was to keep the spirit but change the style. I still challenge students, but I’m also replicating the sense of community my professors created.”
That community often takes the form of food. Inspired by those Siena neighborhood feasts, Hartnett hosts long-table dinners after the annual LaFollette Lecture, inviting senior Classics majors to share a meal and conversation with faculty and guests.
“By senior year, students are richer and more complex individuals, and the conversation reflects that,” he says. “There’s no head or foot of the table—everyone’s in it together.”
Even in his Latin classes, Hartnett uses food as a bridge. On select Fridays, he moves class to lunchtime, brings in dishes, and blends a meal with quizzes and discussion.
“It shows students attention and affection,” he starts, “and it’s a metaphor for what we do in class, sharing something you care about and inviting them to try something new.”
The impact can be profound.
“Dr. Hartnett brings an unparalleled energy to every one of his class sessions,” says John Schnerre ’26, a Classics
major from Lafayette, Indiana. “In a Latin 101 class, I found myself waiting all day to see if he’d find a new mnemonic
device which would stretch our imaginations and our knowledge of ancient language. His energy helps students
fully invest in the subject, and his genuine interest in them makes him personable and accessible.”
Asked what he hopes his students take away from his lessons, Hartnett doesn’t mention mnemonic devices.
“168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网’re not in the business of producing the next generation of classicists. 168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网’re producing the next generation of curious, open-minded citizens,” says the Classics department chair. “If they remember the experiences we shared
and the way they were treated, that matters more than whether they can still parse a sentence in Latin.”
Winning the MMA has prompted Hartnett to think about his next chapter. With a sabbatical approaching, he’s planning new research projects, including “25 Romans Not Named Caesar,” which will explore the lives of everyday citizens in ancient Rome. He’s eager to involve students in the work, giving them the chance to create knowledge.
As for the award itself, it’s a motivator.
“It’s the best kind of push,” he says, “to keep going, to keep finding ways to connect, challenge, and inspire.”