Earlier this week President Obama awarded the National Medal of Arts to seven individuals. Two of the winners were women, but only one has a current affiliation with the academic world.
Rita Dove, the Commonwealth Professor of Poetry at the University of Virginia, was awarded “for her contributions as an American poet and author. Ms. Dove creates works that are equal parts beauty, lyricism, critique, and politics. Ms. Dove has worked to create popular interest in the literary arts, serving as the United States’ youngest Poet Laureate and advocating on behalf of the diversity and vitality of American poetry and literature.”
Professor Dove is a summa cum laude graduate of the Miami University and holds a master of fine arts degree from University of Iowa.