Award-winning author Andre Dubus III will speak at Southern Vermont College commencement

Award-winning author Andre Dubus III will be awarded an Honorary Degree from Southern Vermont College and will address the graduating class on Sunday, May 17, for the school s 82nd commencement. Dubus is the author of House of Sand and Fog (a Finalist for the National Book Award and an Oprah s Book Club selection which was made into a major motion picture), Bluesman and The Cage Keeper and Other Stories. His most recent and widely acclaimed novel, The Garden of Last Days, dramatically weaves a tale about the intertwining lives of several characters leading up to 9/11.
Andre Dubus III is a gifted writer and an inspiring speaker who has earned acclaim for his innovative narrative lines and for his rich character portraits, said SVC Provost Albert DeCiccio. His work has added a new dimension to discussions about the importance of understanding others in order to prevent turmoil both domestic and international. SVC is thrilled to host this talented writer to address our graduates, because, above all else, Andre values the imaginative potential of our nation s youth.
Dubus has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, The National Magazine Award for fiction, The Pushcart Prize, and was a Finalist for the Prix de Rome Fellowship from the Academy of Arts and Letters. A member of PEN American Center and the Executive Board of PEN New England, Dubus has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and has taught writing at Harvard University, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Emerson College.
Andre Dubus III, who lives with his family north of Boston, is the son of the late Andre Dubus, the author of many short stories and nonfiction vignettes, including Dancing After Hours and Meditations from a Movable Chair.
Founded in 1926, Southern Vermont College offers a career-enhancing, liberal arts education with 21 academic degree programs for approximately 500 students. Southern Vermont College recognizes the importance of educating students for the workplace of the twenty-first century and for lives as successful leaders in their communities. The college is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Source: SVC