March 26, 2002

Contact: Jonathan Mayhew, Spanish and Portuguese, (785) 864-0287.

Spanish poetry conference to recognize KU professor as pioneer in his field

LAWRENCE -- Friends and former students of Andrew P. Debicki, distinguished professor of Spanish at the University of Kansas, will join an international group of poets and scholars April 5 and 6 to honor Debicki as a pioneer in modern Spanish poetry.

Their tributes will be part of a KU symposium, "The Discovery of Poetry," in the Kansas Union Malott Room. Sessions are free and open to the public, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, April 5, and concluding at noon Saturday, April 6. Readings will be in Spanish and in English, depending on the speaker's preference.

Two speakers are Spanish poets: Angel González, recently retired from the University of New Mexico, and Jaime Siles of Universidad de Valencia. The speakers include one of Debicki's former graduate students, Jill Robbins, who now teaches at the University of California, Irvine. Robbins received a Ph.D. in Spanish from KU in 1992.

Debicki has written more than 10 books on Latin American and Spanish poetry of the 20th century, said Jonathan Mayhew, KU assistant professor of Spanish. "He has been highly influential in the field of modern Spanish poetry," Mayhew said.

Mayhew said that Debicki's work included directing three National Endowment for the Humanities summer seminars for college teachers, developing 20th century Hispanic poetry as a field of study and mentoring young scholars of Spanish literature. In 1999, the Modern Language Association Departments of Foreign Languages' awarded Debicki its fifth Award for Distinguished Service in the Profession.

Debicki's work has contributed to deepening KU's connections to Spain and the Hispanic world, Mayhew said. KU's doctoral program in Spanish is ranked among the top five in the nation in a series of evaluations by the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils.

Other invited speakers include: Biruté Ciplijauskaité, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Salvador Jiménez Fajardo, State University of New York-Binghamton; Santiago Daydí-Tolson, University of Texas-San Antonio; Margaret Persin, Rutgers University; Martha LaFollette Miller, University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Sharon Keefe Ugalde, Southwest Texas State University; and John Wilcox, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Biographical information for Andrew Debicki
Debicki joined KU's faculty in 1968 as a professor of Spanish. In 1976, Debicki was named a university distinguished professor, and in 1989 he was appointed director of the Hall Center for the Humanities. Four years later, he became dean of the Graduate School. He also served as vice chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies. In 1996, Debicki took on the dual title of dean of the Graduate School and International Programs. In August 2000, Debicki retired as dean to return to full-time teaching.

Debicki earned a bachelor's degree in 1955 and a doctorate in 1960, both from Yale University. He taught at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and Grinnell College in Iowa before coming to KU.

He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Debicki, are longtime contributors to the KU Endowment Association and have provided support for the Lied Center, the Spencer Museum of Art, the Hall Center for the Humanities, the Natural History Museum and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The couple established the Mary Elizabeth and Andrew P. Debicki Graduate Fellowship Fund to provide fellowships in the humanities, with a preference given to first-year students.