Oral History Interview with Dr. Maurice O’Sullivan: Kenneth Curry Professor of Literature

Maurice J. O\u27Sullivan, or Socky (short for Socrates), as he prefers to be called, came to Rollins College in 1975 as a professor of English specializing in eighteenth century literature. He is also an editor, mentor, and College Marshal. O\u27Sullivan grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the St. Aloysius area. He earned his bachelor\u27s degree at Fairfield University and went on to receive his master\u27s degree and Ph.D. from Western Reserve University. Afterward, he taught for several years at Ohio State University before joining the faculty at Rollins. Eventually, O\u27Sullivan became the chair of the English Department and chair of the Humanities Division at Rollins. In addition to teaching courses ranging from Irish Studies to Jane Austen: Fiction and Film, he was an advisor for students. O\u27Sullivan also co-hosted a Summer Teachers Institute for middle and high school teachers. Noted for his cross-disciplinary style of teaching, O\u27Sullivan was named Kenneth Curry Professor of Literature in 1999. Some of his other distinctions include a silver medal from the 1987 National Professor of the Year Competition, seven years on the Executive Board for the Florida College English Association (which culminated in his position as president of that body in 2001-2002), and the Bornstein Award for Faculty Scholarship in 2004-2005. O\u27Sullivan\u27s academic interests include Shakespeare, Irish culture, religion, education, Florida, and popular culture. He has contributed to numerous publications in either the role of author or editor. A few of these works include The Florida Reader (with Jack Lane), Crime Fiction & Film in the Sunshine State: Florida Noir; Florida in Poetry: A History of the Imagination; The Books of Job; FIAT LUX: Teaching in Paradise; Shakespeare Plays the Classroom; Shakespeare\u27s Other Lives: An Anthology of Fictional Depictions of the Bard; Orange Pulp; and the rediscovered 1855 novel A Trip to Florida for Health and Sport. He also wrote numerous articles for The Orlando Sentinel, several of which celebrated Irish heritage