BUFFALO, NY – The Canisius University Alumni Association will present
Thomas M. Banchich, PhD, of Kenmore, with its 2017 Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Faculty Award during Spring Honors Convocation on Friday, May 19. The prestigious award recognizes one faculty member, annually, for teaching excellence and outstanding contributions to the academic world.
Banchich is a professor and chair of the Classics Department at Canisius. He came to the college in 1981 as a lecturer and rose through the ranks throughout his 30-plus years at the college, holding positions as assistant professor, associate professor and full professor.
The study of classics is central to the Jesuit tradition and Banchich keeps the subject alive and vital in the Canisius classroom. He works tirelessly to promote the study and value of ancient Greek and Latin history, literature, philosophy, art and culture. During his tenure, Banchich developed many popular courses including Roman history, Greek history, Alexander the Great, and Pagans and Christians – always enlivening material that might otherwise seem intimidating. He is equally adept at introducing non-experts to a given area of Greek and Roman history as he is at helping upper-level students grapple with the niceties of ancient languages.
The pace and breadth of Banchich’s scholarship is similarly laudable. An expert in both Greek and Roman history and historiography, he is the author of more than 50 publications, articles, reviews, encyclopedia entries and book chapters that range from Aristotle and Vergil to the art of biography and the early Church fathers. Banchich’s numerous publications also include two well-reviewed monographs: The Lost History of Peter the Patrician (2015) and The History of Zonaras: From Alexander Severus to the Death of Theodosius the Great (2009).
Banchich holds a BA and an MA in history from Ohio’s Bowling Green State University. He earned his PhD in classics from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Canisius is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
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