Dr Susan Walker FSA receives Kenyon Medal

Wolfson’s research community today celebrates the receipt of another award, as Dr Susan Walker FSA, Emeritus Fellow of the College and Honorary Curator of the Ashmolean Museum, receives the British Academy’s prestigious Kenyon Medal for her contributions to the fields of Roman history and literature.

Dr Walker, who was a Governing Body Fellow of Wolfson from 2004-2014 and Emeritus from 2015, received the award for pioneering new approaches to classical art and archaeology, and for her instrumental role in forging strong bonds between the museum and university sectors. Her work specialises in the art and archaeology of the Roman Empire and covers an exceptionally broad range of material from across Europe and North Africa, from the copper alloy bust of an Emperor excavated in Northamptonshire to mummy portraits discovered in Roman Egypt.

“I am very honoured and surprised by the unexpected but most welcome award of the Kenyon Medal of the British Academy,” said Dr Walker. “Any permanent gallery, special exhibition or research project undertaken in a museum is the work of a large team of people.

“I have found great inspiration and massive expertise on all aspects of archaeology amongst students, friends and colleagues in the Faculty of Classics, the School of Archaeology and Wolfson College, University of Oxford.”

Dr Walker was Keeper of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum between 2004 and 2014, where she was the responsible curator for over half a million objects in the museum’s historic collection. Prior to coming to Oxford, Dr Walker worked in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum.

The Kenyon Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy in recognition of work in the fields of classical studies and archaeology. The award was endowed by Sir Frederic Kenyon (1863–1952), and was awarded for the first time in 1957.