Marty Dobrow to give 2024 Undergraduate Commencement Speech

By Braedan Shea
@Braedan_Shea

Stationed in the basement of Judd Gymnasia three days a week, Springfield College Professor of Communications Marty Dobrow works for hours, digging through the archives, transcribing interviews and documenting his findings. In an effort to complete his third book, Dobrow has taken a sabbatical from teaching for this semester, completely immersing himself in his writing work.

Although he has been an award-winning sports writer for much of his career – his two previous books, GOING BIGTIME: the Spectacular Rise of UMass Basketball and Knocking on Heaven’s Door: Six Minor Leaguers in Search of the Baseball Dream, were about basketball and baseball, respectively – Dobrow’s career has pivoted to writing about social justice and civil rights stories.

Over the course of the last 20 years, Dobrow has been working on a piece about the Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine, Fla. – a story that, coincidentally, he came across while looking at the list of Springfield College commencement speakers.

“I just thought, ‘How interesting, who have been the commencement speakers here before?’” Dobrow said. “I saw this long list. I started going through and there were a few names I recognize, and a lot of names I don’t. Then I come to 1964, and I see Martin Luther King Jr. I was just like ‘How could that be?’”

Being the great journalist he is, Dobrow searched for further information in the Springfield College archives. Disappointed with the amount of material he found, he began searching elsewhere. In 2014, he wrote a story for The Atlantic about how the FBI tried to block King’s commencement speech. Now, Dobrow has gathered enough stories and done significant reporting to complete the book this year.

“This story is just one that I felt the need to tell,” Dobrow said. “Over the years I’ve been reading, finding, interviewing sources and always hunting for great stories, which is what I always like to do. I was down a couple of weeks ago in St. Augustine doing a series of interviews – one of them with a 100-year-old woman who is part of the book, and I’ll be going down to Atlanta later this month to talk to this 97-year-old guy who is a major part of the book – both incredible people. It’s just something I feel the need to do.”

But before he can close this book for good, Dobrow has been given the opportunity to add his name on the same list as the very person that started his quest. On May 12, Dobrow will follow in MLK’s footsteps and become Springfield College’s 138th Undergraduate Student Commencement Ceremony speaker.

Dobrow, a beloved professor at Springfield, has taught on Alden Street since the inception of the Sports Journalism/Communications major in the fall of 1999. Dobrow is also an author and national-award-winning journalist.

In his 25 years at the college, Dobrow has become a staple in the campus community. He was the 2014-2015 Distinguished Professor of Humanics, headlining a “Bending the Arc” campaign about his personal experiences with social justice issues, and named as the New England Journalism Educator of the Year in 2016. He has also collaborated with students on journalistic projects, including a recent documentary titled “The Class of 2023: A Journey Through Extraordinary Times” with current students Alberto Martinez and Braedan Shea, and a podcast called “Liberty, Justice and Ball” with 2021 graduate Kris Rhim.

Dobrow has been at the forefront of developing and chaperoning Alternative Spring Break trips for Springfield College students, traveling to prominent civil rights locations like Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma, Ala., and St. Augustine.

The opportunity to address the Class of 2024 at a place that has held such a major role in his life is something that Dobrow treasures.

“I was surprised [to be named]. I was humbled. I am greatly honored,” Dobrow said. “This place has been my context for a quarter century at this point. That’s a pretty big chunk of my life. It’s a place that’s mightily important to me. It’s a place where I have grown, where I’ve been challenged; a place that has moved me profoundly over the years. I know it has its flaws and limitations. I think we’re always best when we face those squarely. But it’s also been a place with a good heart and great stories, and those are the things I’m hoping to tap into with the speech.”

Dobrow is no stranger to Springfield College commencement speeches. During the same year he was the Distinguished Professor of Humanics he spoke at the Boston, Tampa, Fla. and Charleston, S.C. remote campuses of the college. For this year’s speech, Dobrow just wants to be genuine.

“I want it to be meaningful, and I want it to speak directly to the students,” Dobrow said. “That’s the most important part of Springfield College, always. As the other parts of the college should all be in service of the students. That’s why we’re here. That should be the message of a commencement speaker – to speak directly to the students.”

Photo by Damon Markiewicz

 

 

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