The Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award, established in 2015, recognizes UCLA emeriti for exemplary service by an emeritus/emerita professor to the academic enterprise after retirement. The award honors outstanding service in professional, University, Academic Senate, emeriti, departmental or editorial posts, or committees.
UCLA Professor Emeritus Robert Gurval has been selected to receive the 2024 – 2025 Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award, which includes a prize of $1,000.
Robert Gurval, Professor Emeritus of Classics retired in 2019. In the years since then he has developed a second career, putting his renowned scholarly and teaching skills to the service of his department, the campus and the broader UCLA community. Among his many achievements in this period, none stands out more than his dedication to exploring and retelling the historical and architectural origins of the UCLA campus. Through various mechanisms: Fiat Lux courses, lectures, campus tours for the Division of Humanities Dean’s Circle, the Chancellor’s Society, and during UCLA’s Centennial Celebration, and a feature article “Stories in Stone” for the UCLA College of Letters & Science Magazine (Dec 2023), Professor Gurval has brought the history of UCLA to life and introduced many to a fascinating and important story. In the same vein, and drawing on the same teaching expertise, Professor Gurval has also become one of the premier faculty lecturers in the UCLA Alumni Travel Program. He is a proud emissary of UCLA and his tours, which include not only regions within the orbit of his scholarly expertise on the Roman empire, but also areas much farther afield, have become extraordinarily popular. His depth of knowledge gives alumni a taste of his exceptional teaching ability, as well as helping to make them feel an important part of the UCLA community. He also stands out as a mentor to students at UCLA as well as serving as a mentor to high school students through the Collegiate Mentorship Program. Notably, during retirement he has also deployed his talents for the good of his department, shouldering teaching responsibilities and helping maintain the department’s offerings in Latin. Through these endeavors he has shown himself to be a proud, committed and enthusiastic representative of the University.
Please join me in wishing Professor Emeritus Gurval a well-deserved congratulations for outstanding service to UCLA since retirement and for serving as a powerful example of intellectual and professional achievement.
Sincerely,
Michael S. Levine
Chair, Carole E. Goldberg Emeriti Service Award Selection Committee
Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs & Personnel
