Judging by his résumé, Jacques A. Bailly is eminently qualified to serve as the official pronouncer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a job he has held since 2003. He won the bee in 1980 when he was 14. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in ancient philosophy and wrote a dissertation on a pseudo-Platonic dialogue called the Theages. He is a professor of Greek and Latin at the University of Vermont and teaches courses on Plato, Aristotle and etymology. He said he is now learning Old Norse and Sanskrit and likes to garden and “hoard wood.”

Source: New York Times July 09, 2021 01:18 UTC