from UMass SCUA
The Troy Lecture Series honors Frederick Sherman (Barney) Troy, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an acclaimed professor in the English Department.
Troy graduated with a bachelor of science degree from UMass Amherst in 1931 and soon after became an instructor in the English Department. In 1935, he earned a MA from Amherst College and continued working at UMass Amherst where he became assistant professor in 1937 and full professor in 1950. During WWII, he took a leave from teaching to serve as a United States Merchant Marine. Troy left the English Department in 1955 but stayed involved with the University.
Troy was a founding editor of The Massachusetts Review, and from 1963 to 1984 served the University on the Board of Trustees at a crucial time of transition as UMass Amherst became a comprehensive research university. In recognition of his contributions, in 1979 he was named Honorary Professor of the University, one of the highest distinctions in our campus system. In tribute to Professor Troy, former students and friends generously donated the funds to endow the lecture series that takes place in his name.
The Troy Lecture is our most important event of the year, as we bring to the campus eminent writers and scholars whose work brings into play the relationships of literature, culture, and civic responsibility. Since the lecture’s creation in 1987, we have hosted such figures as Nadine Gordimer, J. M. Coetzee, Seamus Heaney, Adrienne Rich, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Junot Díaz, and Judith Butler.