Cook honored at River College
English Professor William Cook gave his first commencement speech Saturday to a graduating class of 579 students at Rivier College in Nashua, N.H., where he received an honorary degree. Cook, a Doctor of Humane Letters recipient, was selected as the commencement speaker because "he has made expanding contributions in English education and for promoting awareness of multicultural studies and for his achievements in the performing arts," Rivier English Professor Paul Lizotte said when he nominated Cook, according to Lori Ruediger, who works in Rivier's public relations office. Cook's honorary degree citation described his life's work as "testimony to literature's profound power, not as a simple mirror to reflect a single image, but as a kaleidoscope whose countless shards refract a dazzling, complex stained-glass window of human experience." The citation also said "in literature, William Cook not only finds the stuff of which dreams are made, but the stuff of which life is made." It described Cook's diverse teaching career, which has spanned all levels of education, and the diversity of his writing, which includes many published works, scholarly reviews and his edited works. The Trustee's Committee said Cook is the person who best represents the goals of Rivier College, Ruediger said.