NOMINATIONS FOR
KU FACULTY/STAFF WHO
“MADE A DIFFERENCE”
DEADLINE: MARCH 31, 2015
Do you recall a KU faculty or staff member who made a
true difference in your education and/or was influential in
your career success?
Please submit your name, class year, the faculty/staff
member’s name, and a short description explaining your
nomination to
. The best stories will be
recognized throughout the sesquicentennial celebration, which
will run from August 2015 through September 2016.
WANTED:
PHOTOS
AND
MEMORIES
OF
KU’S PAST
Submit your pictures and memories for KU’s
150-year celebration website. Please send
submissions to
.
NEWS
NOTES
AND
On Thursday, Oct. 16, acclaimed author Margot Livesey captivated a Kutztown University audience
with a reading from the first chapter of her latest novel, “The Flight of Gemma Hardy.” The book,
set in Scotland and Iceland in the early 1960s, is a reimagining of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre.”
Livesey also held a master class, sponsored by the Department of English, which was open to
students of any major.
“After reading Margot’s stories, it’s difficult not to have a better understanding of ourselves,”
said Jeffrey Voccola, assistant professor of English at KU. “We realize that … the problems we
face in our own lives, the decisions we struggle to make for the good of ourselves and others,
have been grappled with by people many times over, which, in the end, makes us feel a little less
alone. These are the qualities only a gifted fiction writer can deliver.”
As a young girl, Livesey was fascinated with Jane Eyre and the parallels of their lives – she
too attended boarding school as a child and felt alienated from her more affluent peers. After
deliberating for a while (she didn’t want to write ‘in the shadow of a masterpiece’), she decided it
was time to give voice and life to Gemma – her own vision of Bronte’s indomitable heroine.
“The reading was very exciting and easy to get lost in,” said CAMERON WERTZ ’18, a profes-
sional writing major. “I’ve read books by her before – I love her style and the way she draws
people in with the use of metaphors. I didn’t want her to stop reading.”
For several semesters, KU’s English department has been bringing prominent authors to
speak on campus.
Margot Livesey Captivates KU
VISITING AUTHOR
PHOTOGRAPHY: EMMA HARDY
