Spring Break in Greece 2027

As Associate Director of Travel Study and Student Engagement at the Graham School, Matt works with Graham instructors to curate and manage a dynamic menu of travel opportunities designed to extend Graham School discussions beyond the greater Chicago area. Matt is passionate about finding ways to bring lifelong learners to locations where classroom texts truly come to life. 

Prior to joining the Graham School, Matt served as the director of programming and communications on campus at ISAC (formerly the OI). At ISAC, Matt designed bespoke travel experiences for lifelong learners and museum patrons as they explored the ancient cultures of North Africa and West Asia. While overseeing programming and communications at ISAC, Matt worked with a team of educators and museum professionals to make these ancient cultures accessible to members of the Chicago community and beyond. Matt has also worked to foster engagement at several cultural institutions, including the Art Institute and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

You can contact Matt at mwelton@uchicago.edu 

Outside of his work at Graham School, Matt enjoys buying more records than he has room for and traveling with family when his daughter’s school schedule permits.  

Which Graham course would you most like to take and why? 

I would be interested in taking a deep dive into medieval texts. Also, I would welcome a course on Spinoza that would force me to read the text while opening pathways of understanding through discussion.     

Kendall Sharp is the Sheffield Family Distinguished Instructor in the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults. He holds a PhD from the Committee on Social Thought and a BA from the College at the University of Chicago. Formerly, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Western Ontario, and he has taught also at DePaul University (history), the University of Illinois-Chicago (classics), and in the College (humanities). He rejoined the Basic Program in 2019, having last served on the staff from 1999–2000. His research and publishing focus on Plato’s dialogues as literary expressions of the philosophical life. His teaching has included Greek and Latin languages, classics in translation (literature, philosophy, history), and both classical mythology and ancient Greek science. He is currently preoccupied with the chilly reception Western Civilization gave to the ancient Greek values of political freedom and equality. You can contact Kendall at krsharp@uchicago.edu.

Which Graham course would you most like to take and why?

There are no courses at Graham Kendall would prefer to any others, for he loves them all equally.