Brenda Hillman 2023 Professor of the Year Celebration

The renowned poet and longtime Saint Mary's faculty member speaks on “Teaching the Imagination: Some Confessions, Micro-tools, and Party Favors.” A literary evening and reception not to be missed.

Join us for an evening talk and reception celebrating Saint Mary’s 2022–2023 Professor of the Year Brenda Hillman.

Professor Hillman will speak on “Teaching the Imagination: Some Confessions, Micro-tools, and Party Favors.”

The Saint Mary’s community will honor Professor Hillman and recognize her achievements, influence, and impact on generations of Saint Mary’s students and fellow faculty members. The celebration begins at 5 p.m. in the Claeys Lounge of the Soda Center on the SMC campus. RSVPs are strongly encouraged for what is expected to be a strong turnout.

“No Better Example”

“Brenda has taught and mentored Saint Mary’s students, and inspired them to be better writers, thinkers, citizens, and stewards of the earth,” wrote a nominating team of 62 faculty members at Saint Mary’s. “We can think of no better example of what it means to be a Lasallian educator and devoted member of the Saint Mary’s community.”

Professor Hillman has spent nearly four decades at Saint Mary’s, beginning as an adjunct instructor teaching first-year writing courses before joining the English and Creative Writing program faculty in 1985 and eventually serving as Olivia Filippi Professor in Poetry. She has taught composition, Collegiate Seminar, January Term, and a variety of undergraduate courses. She founded the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the College, and she remains a staunch supporter and the program’s guiding spirit. She also cites Saint Mary’s Collegiate Seminar as a significant influence on her teaching career.

“Brenda is spoken of widely as a legendary teacher,” wrote the nominating team, which noted the “dizzying” number of students over the decades whose lives and careers have been positively impacted by her instruction.