Newark newsflash: Kaitlin Moleen’10 wins prestigious AIA prize, will dig in Italy at Gabii

This just in.

The Archaeological Institute of America has awarded Rutgers-Newark junior Kaitlin Moleen a Jane C. Waldbaum Field School Scholarship for summer 2009. Just five of these prestigious fellowships are awarded annually, from a large applicant pool of college juniors and seniors and first year graduate students.

Kaitlin Moleen is an Ancient and Medieval Civilizations/Art History major at Newark, set to graduate in spring 2010. After Rutgers, she plans to attend graduate school concentrating on Roman Art and Archaeology.

This summer Moleen takes her fellowship just 12 miles east of Rome—to the field program of the Gabii Project, an unusually promising new (since 2007) major archaeological campaign.

The Gabii Project is an international, multi-institution initiative under the direction of Nicola Terrenato of the University of Michigan and with the patrocinio of the American Academy in Rome.

The last two years saw exciting field survey work; this summer marks the first actual season of excavation. The 5-week program will run from 21 June through 25 July 2009. The weblog of the Project can be found here while the Project’s photostream can be found here. The Facebook group is here.

The AIA Waldbaum Field School scholarship will help Moleen pay for her expenses in Italy. Plus she will be profiled on the AIA website, and have the report of her Italy experience published in its fall newsletter.

Kaitlin Moleen hails from Union NJ, and graduated from Union High School. The Ancient and Medieval Civilizations major at Newark is part of the History Department and focuses on the history and cultural development of ancient Greek and Roman civilization. Two highlights in the upcoming fall semester include a course on Roman Monuments and Spectacle, taught by Rutgers Scholar/Teacher (and Classics grad student) Kathleen Shea, and a course on Alexander the Great, taught by Professor Gary Farney, the program’s director.

Buon lavoro—e complimenti!

The ‘area urbana’ of Gabii. Credit: Gabii Project Managing Director Jeffrey Alan Becker