John Dobbins
John Dobbins is a field archaeologist who has excavated in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Syria. He specializes in ancient Roman art, archaeology, architecture and urbanism, and he regularly teaches the History of Art I course at the University of Virginia. He holds the posts of the Richard A. & Sara Page Mayo NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor and Professor of Classical Art & Archaeology in the McIntire Department of Art at the University of Virginia. John is also director of the Pompeii Forum Project, a project that is rewriting the history of the forum in Pompeii. His 2007 co-edited book, The World of Pompeii, treats all aspects of Pompeian life. Professor Dobbins has over thirty years of experience in teaching on site, and his interests extend far beyond his Roman specialty. He received a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross, an M.A. (English Literature) from Boston University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan. John will lead the May departure.
Gail Cornell
Gail Cornell is an architectural historian and independent scholar whose areas of focus include the urban development of Iberia by the Romans and the history of the Islamic civilization of al-Andalus. She has lectured on numerous educational tours to Portugal, Spain, Tuscany, and the Mediterranean over the last 13 years. Gail has a strong interest in historic preservation and raising architectural literacy. As a volunteer for the Save Ellis Island Foundation, she leads tours of newly restored buildings on Ellis Island in New York. She is a graduate of Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and a member of the Municipal Art Society of New York, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Society of Architectural Historians. Gail will lead the September departure.
Valerie Hedquist
Valerie Hedquist is an associate professor of art history at the University of Montana. As a Fulbright Scholar, Hedquist researched the religious art of the Dutch 17th-century in Utrecht. During her academic life, she has also continued to explore and teach the art and architecture of Italy, a country whose language and literature she studied while an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota. In summer 2011, her book on the art and life of Montana artist, Fra Dana, was published and in fall 2011, she served as a Smithsonian speaker on a cruise with stops in Rome and Pompeii. Since 1975, she has explored Italy on eight separate occasions, from Palermo, Sicily to Asti in the Piedmont region. Valerie will be on the April 20 and October 19 departures.
