Terrier Volume 75, Number 1 - Spring 2011 | Page 13

Author E.L. Doctorow Shares Secrets of Writing
2 0 1 1 T h o m a s J . V o l p e L e c t u r e S e r i e s Sp e a k e r M i x e s W i t W i t h W i s d o m

O

n February 3, acclaimed author
E.L. Doctorow addressed St. Francis
College students, faculty and
administrators as well as the greater St.
Francis College community when he
visited campus as the honored guest of the
Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series.
While discussing his boyhood in the
Bronx and weaving lessons throughout
about the creative process, Mr. Doctorow
recounted a story about an assignment from
a teacher at Bronx High School of Science
that served as early inspiration for a writing
life. Rather than conducting a real interview,
he created a fictional character compelling his
teacher to want to photograph the character
and publish the story.
“It seemed to me so much better to make
up…than go through the tedious business of
interviewing someone,” Doctorow offered as
his simple excuse for the deception.
The works of Mr. Doctorow, who holds the
Lewis and Loretta Glucksman Chair of
English and American Letters at New York
University, include Ragtime, The March, City of
God, The Book of Daniel, Welcome to Hard Times,

“Just as in his novels, in person Mr.
Doctorow offered the audience an enlightening look at his work and the craft of writing,”
said Thomas Volpe, chairman emeritus
of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees
who endowed the speaker series. “He let us
backstage in his mind to see for ourselves
how he gets from idea to novel, from
inspiration to completed work.”
Among Mr. Doctorow’s many honors are
the National Book Award, two PEN/
Faulkner Awards, three National Book Critics
Circle Awards, the Edith Wharton Citation
for fiction, the William Dean Howells Medal
of the American Academy of Arts and
Letters, and the presidentially conferred
National Humanities Medal. In 2009 he was
shortlisted for the International Man Booker
Prize for Lifetime Achievement.
Guest speakers of the Volpe Lecture Series
offer an international perspective in a variety
of fields to the St. Francis College community,
from business leaders to world leaders. Past
speakers include Salman Rushdie, Russell
Simmons, Mariane Pearl, Paul Rusesabagina,
Lech Walesa and George Mitchell.

E.L. Doctorow delivering his lecture for the 2011
Thomas J. Volpe Lecture Series

Loon Lake, World’s Fair, Billy Bathgate, The
Waterworks, and Homer and Langley. A new
collection of short fiction, All the Time in the
World, was published in April.

New Leadership in Enrollment Management Services
P r o s p e c t i v e St u d e n t s M e e t N e w F a c e s W h e n T h e y App l y

J

oseph Cummings, assistant vice
president of Enrollment Management
Services, has been in his new role
through a round of applications and several
open houses for both undergrad and graduate
students since moving over from his former
spot as director of Student Financial Services.
“There’s much more to Enrollment
Services than seeing students through the
admissions process,” said Mr. Cummings,
who has 22 years of higher education
experience, including at Marymount
Manhattan College and Pace University.
“We’re committed to continuing improvements in retention and working with
faculty and administration to strengthen
the College’s commitment to a full array
of student enrollment initiatives.”

Bishop Ford High School, where he served
as director of Admissions for four years after
more than 30 years at St. Francis Prep.
“Taking prospective students and
their parents on campus tours while classes
are in session gives them a realistic id