Dr. Paul Kimball received his B.A. in Classics (concentration in Mediterranean archaeology) from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1990, and his Ph.D. in Classics (concentration in ancient history) from the University at Buffalo (SUNY) in 2004. His research focuses on the relationship between rhetorical performance and ritual practice in late antiquity. From 2010-2013 he was appointed to the Society for Classical Studies Committee on Classical Tradition and Reception and organized the committee’s 2013 panel on “Arabic and Islamic Receptions of Classical Literature.” He also chaired the Society of Late Antiquity’s affiliated group at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies from January 2013 to January 2017.