Merton’s first Leventis Fellow appointed Chair at the University of Amsterdam

Luuk Huitink, who was the first Leventis Research Fellow in Ancient Greek at Merton (2009–2013), has just been appointed to the Chair of Greek and Latin Literature at the University of Amsterdam. This highly prestigious appointment succeeds the Greek Chair, which had for some time been vacant. In its new combined form with Latin, the Chair further strengthens an already strong Classics department at the University of Amsterdam and gives an additional boost to Classical Studies in the Netherlands.

Professor Huitink says, ‘This appointment will provide an even firmer basis for teaching and research in the field for years to come. I hope to use the chair as a platform to build on the department’s existing strengths in Greek and Latin Studies, for example by developing closer international ties, strengthening our links with schools, supporting young scholars and students, and organising events that connect ancient culture with wider public and academic audiences.

‘I would not be in this position without the opportunity I was given as Leventis Research Fellow at Merton. Those years in Oxford were decisive for my development as a scholar and teacher. In that sense, the Leventis initiative at Merton has had an impact that now extends to the way Classics is studied and taught in Amsterdam.’