Senior Lecturer Regina M. Merzlak

Tufts

University

321 Eaton Hall

Department of Classics

Tufts University

Medford, MA 02155

Phone: 617-627-3213

Fax: 617-627-2896

E-mail: classics@tufts.edu

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Faculty & Staff Guide

Catullus at Lesbia's

by Sir Laurence Alma Tadema

Bio

Senior Lecturer

Regina Merzlak

Latin & Greek Literature

Faculty Member: 1977-2011

Image: Achilles: Achilles killing Penthesilea during Trojan War. Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Catullus_at_Lesbia%27s_by_Sir_Laurence_Alma_Tadema.jpg

She deeply enjoyed teaching and sharing her perspective with her students as well as hearing their views and working with them to help them grow. Her work as a teacher and mentor is perhaps best summed up by her students:

"Dr. Merzlak enthusiastically shared her love of classical studies with her students. Her lectures were enjoyable, because she showed that classical literature, although written thousands of years ago, contains ideas and themes that remain relevant today. To me, the most memorable insight that she shared with her students, was her firm belief in the quintessence of free will as a condition of humanity."

---Christopher R. Vaccaro, Attorney at Law

"Dr. Merzlak was, by far, one of my favorite professors (in all my training). I remember her as just such a delightful person. I was a T.A. for her mythology class and could have listened to her teach for hours. She was fun and funny and passionate. I loved how she showed allusions to myths in modern literature and I think about those Jungian archetypes all the time! I also really enjoyed her poetry. She helped foster a life long love of poetry in me.

Probably Dr. Merzlak’s greatest gift to me was how she treated me and my ideas with great respect. As a young woman just developing my own ideas and newly exposed to Classical studies, I felt she was always open to listening to me and giving constructive and patient feedback. That had a great influence on the development of my intellectual self and my own “voice.” So… thank you to Dr. Merzlak for that wonderful gift."

---Anne Rossi, MD

As a colleague, Regina Merzlak was warm, supportive and always willing to listen to your thoughts and opinions and share hers with you. In her first two decades at Tufts she radiated a fire and vibrancy in and out of the classroom. That fire became more internalized as the years passed, but in Dr. Merzlak there was always that spark of passion. Her last year saw her face several difficult health issues, but she persevered, continuing to teach and in so doing, sharing her courage and determination quietly with her students.

Regina Merzlak was an exceptional teacher, mentor and colleague and a kind, giving, spirited and inspiring human being. A memorial service will be held for Dr. Merzlak early in the spring semester.

The Passing of Dr. Regina Merzlak

The Department of Classics is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Dr. Regina Merzlak. Dr. Merzlak passed away on December 22, 2011 in the company of her family. Dr. Merzlak received her Ph.D. in Classics from Harvard and served as a lecturer in the Department of Classics beginning in the fall of 1977. She was planning to formally retire at the end of December of this year. She was an inspiration to generations of students, as a teacher, advisor and published poet.

Her zest for Classical literature and life was evident not only in her teaching, but in her three books of poetry: Underlight: Collected Poems (1993); Earth Tones (1994); and The Blue Door: A Book of Poems (1998). These books draw from many elements of Dr. Merzlak's own life and experience, as they explore universal ideas and images.