Spencerport resident recognized at Allendale Columbia

English teacher Dan Donaghy was installed as the fifth holder of the Della A. Simpson Chair of the Humanities at the annual Allendale Columbia School faculty-trustee dinner.

"In endowing a faculty chair, the school signals a deep and permanent financial support for its teachers, and honors not only an individual, but also the entire teaching corps," said Dr. Christopher Dahl, president of the board of trustees.

"Dan Donaghy brings his passion for literature to the classroom, a teacher who is an able advisor to our student writers, and a poet who shares personal dreams of better things," said Allendale Columbia Headmaster Charles Hertrick. "He is patient and passionate in his work with students in their writing, showing them the value of careful, precise language. And out of the classroom, he has picked up the torch of his predecessors as advisor to Muse, furthering its status as a premier activity within our student body, moving its production into the digital age, producing a spectacular 25th anniversary issue, and swelling its collection of Scholastic Press Awards." Donaghy has also initiated a visiting poet series.

Donaghy joined Allendale Columbia in 2000 from a position at Cornell University, where he had won the Clark Teaching Award. He earned his bachelor's from Kutztown, his master's from Hollins College, and his M.F.A. in creative writing from Cornell University. He is a resident of Spencerport.