The Classical Association of New England (CANE) is a professional organization for scholars and teachers of classical antiquity in the 6 New England states. CANE was founded in 1906 by a group of "concerned collegiate Hellenists" led by George Edwin Howes of Williams College. Howes became the first Secretary-Treasurer of CANE and served in that capacity until 1920. Charles D. Adams of Dartmouth College was the first president.
CANE has always included both college and school teachers. Of the seven papers presented at the first meeting, three were given by college faculty and four by high-school faculty Since about 1995 it has been customary to elect the president alternately from school and college faculty, and the Annual Meeting is held on both college and school campuses throughout New England.
CANE holds an annual meeting in March of each year. It publishes the New England Classical Journal and, through CANE Press, a collection of pedagogical materials. Each summer CANE runs the CANE Summer Institute, a two-week intensive school with courses in classical literature, history, and art, and lectures open to the general public.
CANE Awards
CANE gives several awards to members, almost all named for members and benefactors of the association. The oldest is the Cornelia Catlin Coulter Rome Scholarship, which provides funds for the recipient to attend the summer session of the American School of Classical Studies in Rome. Coulter (d. 1960), a professor at Mount Holyoke College, anonymously provided the first funds for this award in 1947, while she was president of CANE; she later served as president of the American Philological Association.
The Matthew I. Wiencke Teaching Prize is awarded each year to a teacher in an elementary or secondary school. It is named for Matthew I. Wiencke (d. 1997), of Dartmouth College. He was one of the founders of the CANE Summer Institute and was executive secretary of CANE from 1989 to 1993.
The Edward Phinney Fellowship, awarded every three years since 1998, provides support for Ancient Greek programs in secondary schools.
The Phyllis B. Katz Student Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Research is awarded each year to a student whose paper is accepted for presentation at the CANE annual meeting. There is also a writing contest for high-school students.
The most prestigious of CANE's awards is the Barlow-Beach Award for Distinguished Service, awarded each year for "exceptional service to the classics in New England." It is named for Claude Barlow and Goodwin Beach. Barlow (d. 1976) was a long-time officer of CANE, including ten years as secretary-treasurer. He was professor of classics at Mount Holyoke College and, later, at Clark University. Beach (d. 1976), though not originally a classicist by profession, was a dedicated Latinist who became a teacher after retiring from a career in business. He presented papers on both ancient Latin and neo-Latin at annual meetings over some thirty years and was instrumental in establishing an endowment for CANE.
Following are the recipients of the Barlow-Beach Award since its inception:
2016 John Higgins 2015 Jeremiah Mead 2014 Richard Clairmont 2013 Shirley Lowe 2012 Rosemary Zurawel 2011 Charlie Bradshaw 2010 Anne Mahoney 2009 John McVey 2008 Jacqueline M Carlon 2007 John Lawless 2006 Ray Starr 2005 Alison Barker, posthumous award 2004 Thomas Suits 2003 Ruth Breindel 2002 Donna Lyons 2001 Sister Mary Faith Dargan 2000 Zeph Stuart 1999 Allan B. Wooley 1998 Francis Royster Bliss 1997 Allen Mason Ward 1996 Phyllis B. Katz 1995 William F. Wyatt, Jr. 1994 Richard Desrosiers 1993 Reginald L. Hannaford 1992 Edward M. Bradley 1991 John C. Rouman 1990 Maureen Day Shugrue 1989 Matthew I. Wiencke 1988 John Carter Williams 1987 Gloria Duclos 1986 Sister Jeannette Plante 1985 Z. Philip Ambrose 1984 Joseph E. Desmond 1983 Anita Flannigan 1982 Mary Finnegan 1981 no awardee 1980 Nathan Dane II and Grace Crawford, posthumous award 1979 Gilbert Lawall 1978 Barbara McCarthy 1977 Dorothy Rounds