Alumni Spotlight: Philip F. Venticinque '97

2/15/2017

“I first started sensing a possible vocation as a teacher during my time at Loyola,” reflects Philip F. Venticinque ’97, associate professor of Classics at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. And while his current research and writing are focused on ancient economy, papyrology and the social and economic history of Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine Egypt, Venticinque traces his interest in antiquity back to his days spent studying the poetry of Homer and Vergil in classrooms at Loyola.

“What sparked my interest in a general sense was certainly the approach to learning imparted at Loyola,” Venticinque says. “That education was not so much about stuff, but skills, critical thinking, reflection and application, rooted very deeply in a sense of the history of ideas. These are things I try to impart to my students every day, too.”

It was under the tutelage of longtime Loyola Academy Latin and Greek instructors Donald Sprague, David Mathers and Michael Schulte that Venticinque first encountered the works of Homer, Plato, Sophocles, Euripides, Cicero and Vergil. “I gained an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of Classics, which combines history, language, literature and material culture,” he says. “That this happened at an early stage in my academic life was a boon.”

“Phil was certainly one of the best students I’ve had,” recalls David Mathers, who has taught Latin and Greek at Loyola Academy since 1986. “What stood out was the intensity of his love for the language, the history, the mythology and the lives of the Romans. He found it all absorbing and exciting. Phil always loved finding connections between Latin authors and what he was studying in literature or history.”

Identifying connections between the ancient past and coursework in his other classes at Loyola afforded Venticinque a comprehensive, holistic approach to learning.

“Loyola was one of the first places that taught me the importance of the history of ideas—how we got from point A to point B—in a variety of disciplines,” he says. “Mr. Pape taught us that in chemistry. It wasn’t enough to just know Boyle’s Law, but to think about how he figured it out. It’s not enough to know what happened. It is important to consider how we came to know it, how historians ‘do’ history, and how events, ideas and concepts were understood in antiquity and have been debated and contested since. It’s still something I try to reinforce in the students I teach and advise at Cornell College, especially in my Greek and Roman history courses. And I still ask my chemistry and physics students their thought on Lavoisier and phlogiston.”

In addition to Mr. Sprague, Mr. Mathers and Mr. Schulte, whom he refers to as his “original magistri,” Venticinque also credits English teachers Fr. Bob Ytsen, SJ; Mr. Mark Flinchum; and Mr. Dan Seeberg ’75 along with Theology teacher Mr. David Livingston as influential figures as he began to chart his own course toward a career in academia.

“They pushed us to think harder, read closer, ask better questions and communicate more effectively in class and in writing. They taught me that ideas matter and that they have a history, and to engage with and debate them responsibly, you need to do the footwork and think through it,” he says. “I think about them just about every day when I have to get in front of my own classroom.”

As a student at Loyola, Venticinque was editor of the yearbook, participated in Scholastic Bowl and competed on the Latin team with fellow Ramblers Timothy A. Joseph ’94, now an associate professor and the chair of the department of classics at the College of the Holy Cross, and Douglas R. Boin ’95, an associate professor in the department of history at Saint Louis University.

In addition, Jonathan E. Mannering ’98 is an advanced lecturer in the department of classical studies and undergraduate program director at Loyola University Chicago. Mannering recalls Venticinque’s early love of Classics. “I came to ancient language relatively late in high school, but I was always aware of the select group of students who were enrolled in Greek and Latin and who looked mysterious and cool to an aspiring nerd like myself,” Mannering jokes. “As I quickly realized how demanding ancient languages can be, it impressed me that Phil, who was a year ahead of me, never seemed stressed by the challenges—no matter how daunting—and always seemed to enjoy learning about the ancient world for its own sake. I would keep in touch with Phil during and after college, and he would continue to take academic work in his stride while cultivating a lively social circle with peers and faculty alike. Over the years, Phil has maintained that blend of equanimity and commitment, going all the way to achieve tenure in a discipline uniquely imperiled in today’s economic climate. Twenty years on, and I’m still trying to be more like Phil!”

Venticinque attended the University of Chicago where he majored in Classical Languages and Literature, was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, participated in Student Government and began his study of Coptic, the last native language of Egypt.

He stayed at the university to complete his master’s in 2002 and, then in 2009, to earn his doctorate in the Program in the Ancient Mediterranean World. This specialized program enabled Venticinque to continue his study of Coptic along with other phases of Egyptian language, Near Eastern history and Egyptian history. “I had long been interested in Graeco-Roman Egypt,” he says, “and this led me to begin studying papyrology and learning how to read and edit documentary texts written in Greek and Coptic.”

In 2009, Venticinque joined the faculty at Cornell College where he is a core faculty member in Classical Studies. He teaches courses in classical civilization on topics ranging from “Egypt after the Pyramids: Roman and Late Roman Egypt” and “Roman Religion: Gods, Goddesses and Cults of the Roman World” to “Egypt in the Imagination: Ancient Writers, Christian Pilgrims, Modern Travelers.” He also instructs Greek and Latin language courses.

Venticinque attained tenure in 2016 and was named the Campbell R. McConnell Fellow in the same year.

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he enthuses. “Being a professor allows me the freedom to combine teaching, mentoring, research and, in a sense, to never stop being a student myself. But most importantly, it allows me the opportunity to help and serve others.”

Venticinque’s deep passion for his field and his enthusiasm for teaching hasn’t gone unnoticed at Cornell College. Notably, he was selected to give the Commencement address in 2015—an honor bestowed by the president of the college and graduating class.

"...Treat life like a text (or a problem set, a piece of music or a work of art) and always read deeply, enjoy it, let yourself linger over passages that move you and approach it critically and creatively, with an eye to asking questions, and being open for a myriad of answers." —An excerpt from Venticinque's 2015 Commencement address at Cornell College

“I have received a number of fellowships and awards for research, but this was the most special honor I have received, and perhaps ever will,” he says. “To be the last teacher they’d hear as Cornell students was quite the honor, especially as an untenured professor at the time. As I mentioned when I thanked them in my remarks, on a day when they all should be receiving gifts, they managed to give me one.”

That Venticinque’s students and colleagues hold him in the highest regard comes as no surprise to those who know him best. “When I went down to the University of Chicago to attend Phil’s dissertation defense, it was clear how much his professors and fellow students cherished and respected him,” remembers Mathers. “The room was packed, and Phil handled the questions directed at him with his usual humor and insight. His students are lucky to have someone as thoughtful, passionate and engaged as he is.”

In 2016, Venticinque published his first monograph, Honors Among Thieves (University of Michigan Press). In it, he explores ancient economy and society in Egypt during the first seven centuries A.D. from the lens not of elite groups, but of craftsmen, merchants and members of professional and religious associations.

“In particular, I studied reliance upon trust, reputation and social capital as part of economic, social and political strategies to combat risk and uncertainty, reduce transaction costs, secure advantages and defend privileges,” he explains.

Without skipping a beat, Venticinque has already begun work on his next project—a second book tentatively entitled Conjuring Business: the Economics of Magic in the Ancient World. It is a concentrated study of ancient curse tablets, amulets and magical papyri and handbooks focusing on the intersection of magical texts, religion and commercial activity.

Loyola was formative in Venticinque’s path toward a career in academia, and he shares that the prayers of St. Ignatius and St. Francis continue to guide and inspire him. “I carry my own handwritten copies in my wallet at all times, like some sort of ancient talisman,” he says. “They are a reminder to put others first, to understand, to love, to console, to give and be generous, to bring joy and fun—or at least try to.”

Venticinque and the Class of 1997 will celebrate their 20th reunion this fall, but to Venticinque, the experience still seems like yesterday. “Maybe that’s the best you can say about time well spent at the Academy,” he says.

To learn more about Venticinque’s book, Honor Among Thieves: Craftsmen, Merchants, and Associations in Roman and Late Roman Egypt, click here.

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