In April 2013, Dr. Dorothy Hively, director of disability support services and associate professor of special education, stumbled upon an idea for a book while buying her graduation tickets. The book, titled “Shepherd University,” was released July 29, 2013.
Dr. Hively has been a member of the Shepherd family since 2005. She began as an adjunct professor and by 2006, she became a full time assistant professor of special education. She said that while sometimes you come to Shepherd simply as a teacher, there are many other experiences along the way. In her career, she has worked on many projects such as holding the position of director of assessment and accountability and working as the co-chair for the Higher Learning Commission self-study and site visit.
When Dr. Tauna Cole, associate professor of education at Shepherd, was asked about Dr. Hively’s new book, she not only spoke of the book highly, describing it as, “a quality piece of literature,” but she also spoke of Dr. Hively very highly saying that “the university is lucky to have her.”
After discussing Dr. Hively’s history at Shepherd, we turned to her book and the history of Shepherd University. Once she had the idea, she sent an email to Arcadia publishing and found that they happened to be interested.
She spent most of last summer sorting through hundreds of pictures in the library, going through the archives and even looking at old issues of The Picket. Dr. Hively found the most challenging part to be deciding on what pictures should go in the book. Even with all of her hard work and patience she said, “It’s hard to get 100 plus years in a tiny book.”
She appreciated that she was given a template and deadlines to work with because they kept her on task and she had to make sure that she finished the book on time. Her goal was to include all the important things about Shepherd and as many people as possible. Dr. Hively compared selecting pictures to picking the actors for a play.
If there is one thing that Dr. Hively would want her readers to take away from her book, it is “the important contributions that our graduates have made to the community.” Our graduates have made a viable impact on our society and she feels that it should be recognized. The great memories in this books show where we have been and perhaps where we are going.
She says there are many emotions she feels about the publication of her book: shock, happiness and gratitude for support. The response that she received from people has been very positive. When asked how he felt about Dr. Hively writing a book, Jamin Branch, a political science major said, “It’s great because she’s a real inspiration to all the students she helps here.”
Dr. Hively’s final piece of advice is “when you’re not sure about something, go ahead and do it anyway. What do you have to lose?” She urges readers to try and to pursue whatever they want because it just might go right.
All of the proceeds from this book go back to the foundation to help students with scholarships and financial aid. She will participate in another book signing Oct. 26 at Turn the Page bookstore in Boonsboro, Md.