Academics - Classics Faculty & Staff

David Kubiak began teaching at Wabash in 1979, the first and only academic appointment of his career. His main interest is in Latin poetry, particularly that of the late republic and early empire; he has been especially concerned with the poetry of Cicero. His publications have, however, included work on the Neronian poet Lucan, the Christian writer Prudentius, the textual tradition of Sophocles, and the reception of ancient literature by modern authors such as Marcel Proust and Seamus Heaney. He enjoys teaching in the Wabash Freshman Tutorial program, where his classes have run the gamut from fifth century Athens to the novels of Evelyn Waugh. Outside the academy Professor Kubiak has devoted much time to vocal music, as principal baritone soloist for the Bach Chorale in Lafayette, Indiana. In this role he has appeared with the Lafayette and Indianapolis Symphonies, as well as the Bloomington Early Music Festival; with Purdue chemist/pianist Marc Loudon he has given numerous Lieder recitals. He enjoys an on-going relationship with the Wabash Newman Center, and looks forward to introducing new generations of students to the traditional Latin Mass.

Professor Kubiak is also known at Wabash for his love of food and wine – no student should leave for a semester in Italy without his list of Roman restaurants. His oenophilic enthusiasms led him to make a recent pilgrimage to Bern’s Steak House in Tampa, Florida, which has one of the greatest cellars in the world, and where he did not drink a recently discovered double magnum of 1947 Château Latour priced at $30,000. He hopes one of his very successful former students will accompany him on his next visit.