Barnett Chair brings renowned archaeologist to OU

A student uses some of the techniques she has learned after discovering an artifact.

Sixteen students, OU faculty and a team from the Oklahoma Archeological Survey spent five weeks at an ancient dig site in Ficulle, Italy, during summer 2023.

Sue Alcock says an acquaintance contacted her looking for suggestions of potential candidates for a newly endowed teaching position. It sounded like such a good fit for her that she was drawn to the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Classics and Letters—and a return to the classroom.

“I felt I was ready to move back into a teaching role after spending six years in administration at the University of Michigan,” she said. “It also appealed to me because OU seemed ready to grow in the archaeology of the Mediterranean world. You don’t often see senior hires where you get invited to build a program.”

Alcock, a 2001 winner of the highly prestigious MacArthur Fellowship or “Genius Grant,” previously taught at UM as well as Brown University. She also started the Joukowsky Institute of Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown.

She came to OU in 2022 after a nationwide search to re-start an archaeology program in Classics and Letters and to fill the newly created Barnett Family Endowed Professorship of Classical Archaeology.

The professorship was funded through a $500,000 gift to the OU Foundation from Cody Barnett, OU 1993 BA in history, and Marvin D. Jirous, representing the MD Jirous and Barbara Jirous Foundation. The professorship helps recruit and retain faculty members of the highest quality and reputation while attracting exceptional students, a major focus for “Lead On: The University of Oklahoma’s Campaign for the Future.”

The professorship also funds research that is “essential for priming the pump and supporting fieldwork,” Alcock said. “Our donors are genuinely invested in making this happen. Through Cody’s connections in Italy, he had already planned to get students over there before I even came to OU.”

Alcock, OU lecturer in Classics and Letters Joey Williams, and a team from the Oklahoma Archeological Survey took 16 students to explore an ancient site near Ficulle, Italy, in the Umbria region. Students spent five weeks learning techniques of excavation, geophysical exploration, archaeological drawing, documentation and finds processing.

“Most of the students had zero archaeological experience,” Alcock said. “Some left saying, ‘Hey, I’ve gotten to explore archaeology and now I’m off to law school,’ which is fine, while others have decided to pursue archaeology more seriously.”

Alcock says she is excited to return to the site in 2024 with another group of OU students.

“I have been so fortunate in my career. Holding an endowed professorship is sort of like bearing a flag,” she said. “It tells me archaeology is something that OU believes is important and supports, and they trust me to be the flag bearer and champion for the field. I am happy to be here.”