In the summer of 2010 the Department of Classics at the University of Virginia will again offer Latin as one of the University's Summer Language Institutes. The Latin program, which will take place from June 14 through August 6, is an intensive course designed to cover two years of college-level Latin (12 UVa credit hours earned). Students who wish to acquire experience in reading Latin but do not require course credit may also choose a non-credit option. No previous knowledge of Latin is required for participation. The Summer Latin Institute is an excellent opportunity for motivated students to achieve rapid proficiency in Latin.

The Institute begins with the fundamentals of Latin grammar, including elementary readings and composition. In the second half of the program, students read extensively from prose and verse authors at the intermediate level, in addition to completing more advanced exercises in prose composition and metrics. There are six hours of formal instruction per day and supplementary review sessions in the evenings. Attendance in all three sessions (morning, afternoon, and evening) is required of all students, regardless of whether they are enrolled for credit or non-credit. Furthermore, every student, regardless of type of enrollment, must earn a passing grade in each class of the first half of the SLI in order to participate in the second half of the program.

The Director and Lead Instructor of the 2010 Latin SLI will be Tom Garvey, who has been a graduate student in the Classics department at UVA since 2004. After serving for a year from 2007-8 as the President of the University's Graduate Student Council, Tom left grounds for a year to study in Greece at the American School for Classical Studies at Athens from 2008-9. He has taught courses ranging from Elementary Greek and Latin to Roman Civilization and Greek Mythology to advanced Latin reading courses, and has been honored with UVA's Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award as well as the student-nominated Class of 1985 Fellowship for Creative Graduate Teaching. His publications include an article on religion in Plato's Atlantis Story, archaeological and architectural entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, and a critical edition of a documentary papyrus from Roman Egypt. This is his third year teaching with the Latin Summer Language Institute and his second as Director.

Latin SLI students with a toga in front of Homer