Rachel Meyers, a leading scholar in the study of Roman Material culture, received her PhD in Classical Studies from Duke University in 2006. She has taught in the Classical Studies program at Iowa State University since August 2006 and also co-directs an LAS Global Seminar called “Roman Italy: Building the Empire”. She has recently served as a visiting Professor at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, a pioneering program enabling undergraduates across the U.S. to study Rome in-depth.
Working at the interface of history, archaeology, epigraphy, and art history, a major portion of Dr. Meyers’s research 
has previously focused on the lives of women in the Roman world, especially in their capacity as benefactors. Her work in this field has culminated in research articles such as “Women’s Activities and Representation in the Forum of Segobriga” and “Exceptional Female Benefactors in Roman Hispania.”
Dr. Meyers also has a sustained interest in elite and imperial representation and self-representation in public spaces in the Roman Empire – the principal topic of her ongoing book project. She is the recipient of the CEAH Fall 2025 Research Grant, an award that she feels will contribute significantly to completion of her manuscript titled Display and Dedication in Roman Hispania. In this work, she analyzes and discusses the statuary once on public display in Roman provinces that occupied lands of modern Spain and Portugal.
“Marble statues were ubiquitous in the Roman world. They portrayed members of the imperial family, military generals, local notables, and other elite and were financed by the senate, town councils, and individuals or small groups. In studying these statues and their placement in a number of towns, I want to learn more about how individuals asserted their identity within their society, how they negotiated their position within the political system, and how their likenesses could convey authority or evoke a range of sentiments in those who lived with them as part of their civic spaces.”
This topic has been at the forefront of Dr. Meyers’s research interests for two decades. She has previously been awarded CEAH research grants in 2015 and also in 2019. The investigations conducted during these award periods resulted in several conference presentations and the article “A New Analysis of Antonine Statuary Groups in Roman Spain.” With the current grant, she hopes to focus particularly on one chapter of her book on Tarraco, one of the largest cities in Roman Hispania with extensive remains. Bringing together her methodologies and the expertise acquired over the course of her career, she looks forward to bringing humanistic insights into the field.
Dr. Meyers expresses conviction that financial support such as the CEAH research grant contributes significantly to impactful work in the Humanities disciplines. “Though Iowa State is known for its strength in areas such as engineering, agriculture, and the sciences, the Humanities are vital for the success of any other pursuit. One must know how to think, evaluate, reason and communicate.”