FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
AWARD- WINNING W R I T E R & ED U CATOR
ROBIN HEMLEY NAMED DIRECTOR OF GEORGE POLK SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS
L
ong Island University appointed an award-winning writer and visionary educator to lead the dynamic George Polk School of Communications.
Robin Hemley, winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Nelson Algren Award for Fiction from The Chicago Tribune, and three Pushcart Prizes in both fiction and nonfiction, will serve as director and Polk professor in residence of the George Polk School of Communications. Hemley has published 14 books and his stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune and many literary magazines and anthologies. He received his MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop and directed the non-fiction writing program at The University of Iowa for nine years. Most recently, Hemley served as writerin-residence and director of the writing program at Yale, in Singapore. The return to New York is somewhat of a homecoming for Hemley, who was born in Manhattan. Both of his parents were writers and his father co-founded The Noonday Press, which was purchased by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1960. “I grew up in a household full of books and writing,” Hemley said. “I wrote from a very early age so writing was always part of my life.” While he has deep roots in the Empire State, Hemley’s many travels have made him somewhat of a sojourner. He ought not be mistaken for a tourist, however. Hemley prefers to ingratiate himself into the community of each destination, as much as time will allow, and finds the habit to be rejuvenating. “I love that unsettling feeling of traveling,” he said. “It’s a way to get a lot of perspective on your life. That sense of exhaustion that some people feel, I feel like I can get over it and then I’m exhilarated.” When the University administration first approached him
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LIUMAGAZINE | Fall 2020
about joining LIU in a leadership role at the Polk School, Hemley knew the opportunity would be a perfect fit for his personality and temperament. “I really enjoy organizing things and getting things going,” he said. “I like to be in a place with a positive atmosphere of possibility, potential and creating something that hasn’t been around before. That’s driven all my moves.”
This is going to be a school which houses a number of different types of communications. We want as much play between these different genres and modes of expression as possible, so that students are exposed and experimenting in various forms."
Hemley joins an elite team of educators who will collaborate within the Polk School, including accomplished actors, artists, authors, filmmakers, journalists, musicians, photographers, producers, screenwriters and videographers. The wellrounded team embody well-rounded versatility in a variety of professions and exhibit the value of an interdisciplinary skillset. In addition to his prodigious writing pedigree, Hemley also boasts production expertise. His short documentary, Jewish Caviar (2014), played several international film festivals. “This is going to be a school which houses a number of different types of communications,” he said. “We want as much play between these different genres and modes of expression as possible, so that students are exposed and experimenting in various forms. That, I think, is the future.”
