The Classics Department mourns the death of Ashley A. Simone (Ph.D. 2020), who unexpectedly passed away on 16 September 2021 at the age of thirty-three. Ashley was a beloved member of the Department from 2012 to 2020, touching the lives of faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, and staff alike. Our hearts go out to Ashley’s family, to whom we offer our sincerest condolences.
Ashley entered Columbia’s Ph.D. program in Classics after earning a B.A. at Baylor University and spending a semester as a Visiting Student at the University of St Andrew’s, Scotland. A Latinist with a strong interest in philosophy, Ashley found herself drawn to topics of ancient cosmology and was particularly fascinated by Greco-Roman discussions of the stars, those symbols of cosmic order and beauty. She explored these topics in her highly original dissertation, “Cicero among the Stars: Astral Literature and Natural Philosophy in the Late Republic,” in which she traced Cicero’s lifelong interest in the heavens, from his youthful translation of Aratus to the Somnium Scipionis and on to the philosophical treatises of the author’s last years.
Ashley was very active in the field of Classics, presenting her work in numerous venues in the US and Europe and serving on committees of the Society for Classical Studies and the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. In addition to her Ciceronian research, she had a strong interest in Augustan poetry and its reception: she published a note on Horace’s Cleopatra Ode (CP 114, 2019) and a book chapter on the Ovide moralisé (Receptions of Antiquity, Brill 2015), and in 2019 co-organized a panel on “Time in Augustan Literature” for the CAMWS Annual Meeting in Lincoln, NE.
Deeply committed to classical teaching and learning and to the ideals of a liberal arts education, Ashley had a knack for imparting her enthusiasm for the ancient world to others. She was a caring and popular teacher in both the Department and the Core Curriculum, and in 2020 received the extraordinary honor of Columbia’s Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence. Ashley’s dedication to making the benefits of a classical education widely available is apparent from her work for the Paideia Institute’s Aequora after-school program in 2016-17, during which time she founded the Aequora Site at Corpus Christi School, New York, devoted to making Classics more accessible to young people from all parts of Upper Manhattan. Ashley also taught for a semester in 2019 at Fairfield University, where she was an instructor in ancient Greek civilization and history, and, after receiving her Ph.D., took a position at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Taylor, TX, where, as the Head Latin and Philosophy Teacher, she distinguished herself by designing the school’s Latin program.
Ashley’s contributions to the well-being and flourishing of the Columbia Classics community were many, including her untiring work for the Barnard Columbia Ancient Drama Group from 2012 to 2019 and her active role in many seasons of graduate recruitment. On the sixth floor of Hamilton and beyond, she will be remembered for her stylish flair, infectious joie de vivre, and unfailing kindness. Ashley’s star has set prematurely, but she will live on in our hearts.
