Welcome to McKenzie House

is assistant professor of classical studies.
David Ungvary joined Bard’s Classical Studies Program in 2018, teaching Latin and Greek, as well as ancient and medieval history and literature. His research centers on intersections of religion, reading, and writing during the Dark Ages, with a special focus on the ways Romans used spiritual literature to reckon with the fall of the Roman Empire. He earned his BA from Duke; MSt from Corpus Christi College, Oxford; and a PhD in medieval Latin from Harvard.

Ungvary and his wife, Emily, both hail from Buffalo, New York, where they met in high school. They live in Rickman House (behind the Hannah Arendt Center) with their two children, Cassian and Regina, and their seven-year-old field spaniel, Desi. “We maintain an allegiance to the Buffalo Bills and our hometown’s love of blue cheese and wings,” explains Ungvary. He and his family hope to cultivate the spirit of strength embodied by Emerald Rose McKenzie ’52. “I intend to use my role as house professor to encourage mutual support among the members of McKenzie House, by rallying for tailgates before matches of its student athletes and hosting receptions for concerts and plays of its student performers.”
More About David

Emerald Rose McKenzie was one of the first African American women to graduate from Bard. Originally from Nassau in the British West Indies, McKenzie grew up in Brooklyn and went to a school for the blind. She attended Bard College on a full scholarship, majoring in sociology and anthropology. She is remembered by her fellow students as being a beacon of courage and ambition in the face of adversity and for her selfless concern for others.