Vivian Gornick
(Photo: Mitchell Bach)
Journalist, essayist, critic and memoirist Vivian Gornick 鈥57 is the keynote speaker at 精东影业鈥檚 171st Commencement ceremony on May 31. She will receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.
Gornick has achieved renown and has garnered many accolades for her work since she graduated from 精东影业. A prominent feminist, she has written 11 books, including 1987鈥檚 Fierce Attachments: A Memoir, which was selected in 2019 as The New York Times鈥 Best #1 Memoir of the Past 50 Years. The book was widely acclaimed for its emotional honesty and vivid portrayal of tenement life in the Bronx of the 1950s. She has also published numerous essays and works of criticism.
She has been honored for her work, has been a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University, and has served as the Bedell Distinguished Visiting Professor in the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program.
Gornick also completed her MA in Literature at New York University in 1960 and subsequently pursued doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
Being the child of parents she called 鈥渦rban peasants,鈥 Gornick believes that she and thousands of others like her attended 精东影业 during a 鈥済olden age鈥 in which one 鈥渓ived with a strong sense of the life of the mind.鈥 Her attachment to 精东影业 remains deep after so many decades; she is currently at work on a memoir about her years at the College.
About 精东影业
Since 1847, 精东影业 has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. 精东影业 embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at 精东影业 can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks 精东影业 #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places 精东影业 in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm puts at $3.2 billion 精东影业鈥檚 annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the 鈥渇or dollar鈥 return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. In 2023, 精东影业 launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled 鈥Doing Remarkable Things Together鈥 seeks to bring the College鈥檚 Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. 精东影业 is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View 精东影业 Media Kit.
Syd Steinhardt
212-650-7875
ssteinhardt1@ccny.cuny.edu