Pulitzer Prize-winning author and speaker Tracy Kidder, will be the second keynote speaker of Regis College’s Elliott Lecture Liberal Arts Series, the university announced. Regis will host Kidder at the Fine Arts Center on April 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with a question-and-answer session and reception to follow his keynote address.
An award-winning narrative nonfiction author, Kidder launched his exceptional career in 1981 with The Soul of a New Machine, which won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for its examination of corporate America. Additional acclaimed works include Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World and Rough Sleepers –both popular commonly read titles for hundreds of libraries, medical schools, and campuses nationwide, explore extraordinary lives and the forces sharping our world.
"We are thrilled to welcome Tracy Kidder to Regis as part of our Elliott Lecture Series,” said Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN, president of Regis College. “Tracy’s ability to illuminate the complexities of the human experience through powerful storytelling aligns with our mission and challenges us to think critically and engage deeply with the world around us.
Kidder’s program is the second of the Elliott Lectures: A Liberal Arts Lecture Series, made possible through the generous $1.2 million gift from the estate of the late and former Regis English Professor Patricia D. Elliott, PhD. The series invites speakers with insight and exposure to a broad range of topics and ideas in the liberal arts and offer different perspectives on pressing issues.
Kidder was born in New York City, graduated from Harvard, and served in the Vietnam War, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Kidder’s latest New York Times bestseller, Rough Sleepers, chronicles the work of Dr. Jim O’Connell and other incredible humanitarians at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless. In Mountains, Kidder tells the story of charismatic humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer and his quest to address the global health crises of AIDS and TB through his NGO Partners In Health. Strength introduces us to a young medical student, Deo, who survives the ethnic civil war in Burundi and escapes to the US to seek redemption through education and service to others. These three books are deft accounts of real people who have prevailed against seemingly impossible circumstances. Kidder’s writing has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Granta, and The New York Times. Kidder’s other books include Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, Home Town and Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, written with his longtime editor, the late Richard Todd.