Leo Curran, Retired Classics Professor

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Leo C. Curran, associate professor emeritus in the Department of Classics, College of Arts and Sciences, died Sept. 29 in his Orchard Park home. He was 73.

Born in Bridgeport, Conn., Curran earned a bachelor's degree in classics from Yale University and won a fellowship for two years of study at Oxford University. At Oxford, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in ancient history and ancient philosophy. He returned to Yale in 1958 to earn his doctorate in classics.

He was an assistant professor of classics at Yale from 1962-67 before he joined the classics faculty at UB.

Curran taught Latin and Greek at UB for 29 years, earning a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1980. His research interests focused primarily on the poetry of the late Republic and early Empire. Most recently, his work centered on the use of computers and other advanced technology to enhance the study and teaching of Latin and ancient literature.

During his tenure at UB, he held a number of positions in the classics department, including chair, director of graduate studies and director of undergraduate studies.

He was a founding associate editor of Arethusa, a journal of literary and cultural studies based in the UB classics department.