The Canisius English Department has established the Tom O’Malley Award, which will be presented annually to the department’s adjunct professor who best embodies the virtues O’Malley displayed during his decades-long service: a deep and passionate commitment to students, to literature, and to the art of writing.
O’Malley retired in May after 40 years of teaching at Canisius, his alma mater. He taught courses in first-year writing and introduction to literature as well as courses in the education department for aspiring teachers. He was a crucial leader of the Western New York Writing Project, helping to inspire and support writing teachers across our region.
He was awarded two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and published his own writing in The English Journal, The Thoreau Society Bulletin, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Buffalo News.
In 2016, he was awarded the Canisius arts and science adjunct teaching award. The citation read in part:
“O’Malley’s teaching is informed by a philosophy that is consistent with the deepest, humanistic tradition: As he puts it in one of his opinion pieces: ‘Literature matters, now more than ever.’ To understand war, O’Malley suggests we read Homer; to understand our duties as citizens, he suggests we revisit Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.” O’Malley’s goal as a teacher is always to bring students into the rich and unending conversation these texts open up: ‘The careful reader contributes to that wisdom by participating in the unending dialogue of ideas.’”
If you would like to express your gratitude to Tom O’Malley for his 40 years of distinguished service and to congratulate him on this most recent honor, you can email him here: omalleyt@canisius.edu
Submitted by: Mick Cochrane, Professor, English
