In a press release sent out during the summer break, the University announced plans to publish a book on the history of St. John’s. Dr. Frank Brady and his wife Maxine, long time faculty members, will research material for and write the book.
Rev. Donald J. Harrington C.M., President of the University, commissioned the project and asked the two to write the book.
“I am delighted that Dr. Frank Brady, one of our longtime faculty members and most accomplished authors, along with his wife, Maxine, have agreed to undertake this project,” Fr. Harrington said in the press release.
The planned release date for the book has been set for Dec. 2014, coinciding with the University’s 145 anniversary.
Dr. Brady is a New York Times Best-selling author, most recently having written Endgame: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Bobby Fischer.
Mrs. Brady has been a member of the university faculty for more than 20 years now as the associate editor of the Tobin College Review of Business.
The authors plan to combine the history of the university with personal stories and historical archives. The couple said that they also plan to tell the story of the University, through personal submissions.
To help with this, the two have set up an e-mail address ([email protected]), where, they say, anyone with relevant information can submit personal anecdotes, photographs or documents pertaining to the history of the University.
“We want to hear as many stories as we can,” Dr. Brady said. “The more personal memories we have to work with, the better we can accurately tell the story of the university. The school is made up of the people who have been involved in its history, and without their voices, the book will be flat”.
Mrs. Brady said that this is because there are “things you can only learn through stories and memories told by those within the St. John’s community itself.”
The couple said that while they plan to tell the textbook history of the school quite thoroughly, it is more important to them that they accurately compile the memories, experiences, stories, and achievements of the St. John’s community as a whole.
“We want to tell the story of the university as much as we want to tell the history,” Mrs. Brady said.
The two also said that they want to show how the university has evolved both physically and emotionally through the passing generations- from former students to administrators, cafeteria workers to family members of individuals impacted by the school.
The Brady’s said they believe the university has a unique and meaningful story beyond just what one might find in a newspaper archive or a list of graduates.
“There are so many things about the university that make it unique and special,” Mrs. Brady said.
