It is a great pleasure to welcome Bert Lott to the editorial board of DCC. Bert is an ancient historian with special interests in the Augustan Age of Rome, urbanism, early imperial epigraphy, and the interpretation of ancient documentary evidence. He received his B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, and his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches historical and cultural studies as well as Latin and Greek language and literature at Vassar College, where he has been since 1997.

Bert and I first met in the early 1990s when he was finishing his dissertation in Philadelphia and I was just starting my teaching career at nearby Swarthmore College. Since then Bert has gone on to great things at Vassar, where is now Professor of Greek and Roman Studies. He is the author of two well-received books, The Neighborhoods of Ancient Rome (Cambridge University Press, 2004), and Death and Dynasty in Early Imperial Rome: Key Sources, with Text, Translation, and Commentary (Cambridge, 2012).

As the second title implies, he has a strong interest in textual commentary, particularly on inscriptions. And he has been at the forefront of experimentation with the commentary genre in a classroom context as well. His Latin students at various levels write commentary on the texts they are reading, collaboratively. The current status of one of these projects can be seen here. I hope to get Bert to write for this space about his innovative efforts.