Department celebrates career of Professor John Peter Oleson
On April 2, 2015 over 60 colleagues, friends, neighbors and former students of Professor John Peter Oleson celebrated his nearly-40 year career at UVic with a celebration at the University Club. Former University of Victoria President and Vice-Chancellor Howard E. Petch joined many others in thanking John for his many years of service to UVic, the Department and the field of Roman Archaeology.
John came to the Department of Greek and Roman Studies in 1976. Among his many honors, he is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and he was awarded the Pierre Chauveau Medal by the Royal Society of Canada. A world authority in ancient technology, particularly ships, harbours, concrete, and water-supply systems, John has published 12 books, many related to his pioneering excavations at the site of Humayma, a small caravan stop in Jordan's southern desert.
Not one to sit still for long, John’s hobbies are aerobatic flying, boating, and SCUBA diving. In retirement he looks forward to traveling the Mediterranean in the near future but will no doubt soon return to his research.
