Nandini Pandey teaches classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she works on the literature, culture, history, and reception of early imperial Rome. In her Academy project, Pandey traces the valuation of diversity back to early Rome, arguing that it was inextricable from the desire to dominate, consume, and incorporate. But she also notes that Rome—better than many modern states—recognized the pragmatic political and economic benefits of including and advancing constituent people regardless of race.