Writing Instruction Expert to Speak at UF’s Next Wilkin Event

Douglas Hesse, Ph.D., a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English and professor of English at the University of Denver, will be the next University of Findlay College of Liberal Arts Richard E. Wilkin Events speaker. His free, public lecture, titled “Writing as a Liberal Art in an Age Neither Artful nor Liberal,” will take place from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the Mazza Museum.
Hesse, who is also a former UF English Department member, will emphasize how writing is a form of leadership necessary for a strong liberal arts education.
Hesse’s background on writing instruction is extensive. He has authored more than 65 essays and co-authored four books, including “Creating Nonfiction,” which he wrote with Becky Bradway, and the “Simon and Shuster Handbook for Writers” with Lynn Troyka.
He previously taught at Illinois State University, where he received the school’s Outstanding Researcher Award and the Arts and Science Outstanding Teaching Award, directed the Honors Program, the Center for Advancement of Teaching, the graduate program in English studies and the writing program.
Hesse is also the founding executive director of the University of Denver’s Writing Program, which has received the prestigious Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Certificate of Excellence; was a former chair of the CCCC; was the founding coordinator of the Norman Mailer/NCTE National High School and College Writing Awards in Creative Nonfiction; and former editor of WPA: Writing Program Administration.
His scholarly interests are creative nonfiction, writing pedagogy, the organization of writing programs and national literacy efforts.
Hesse received his Ph.D., Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa.
For more information on this event and the Richard E. Wilkin Events Series, contact Christine Tulley, Ph.D., professor of English and director of UF’s Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing Program, at tulley@findlay.edu or at 419-434-4608.

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