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by Mike McGlone
Exchange Staff

       Prof. Joni Doherty came to Franklin Pierce in 1997.  She became the director of the New England Center for Civic Life in 2003, whose mission is to "help students and citizens develop a more effective public voice, and communicate across differences."  Professor Doherty is also a Senior Lecturer in American Studies and Humanities.

MM.  Where is your hometown?
JD.  I grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts. I now live in Peterborough. In between I lived for a number of years in Portsmouth, including one winter on a sailboat.

MM.  What are some of your hobbies?
JD.  I would call them passions rather than hobbies.  I love to paint and draw. I enjoy reading all kinds of books, and usually have several going at the same time. I enjoy hiking spring through fall, but don't do much outside in the winter. My favorite hike in this area is along the ridgeline from Pack Monadnock to North Pack. My favorite way method is to:

1. go with a friend,
2. leave a car at each end,
3. start at Pack Monadnock, and
4. reserve plenty of time for a very leisurely picnic lunch or supper at North Pack.

MM.  What is your ethnic background?
JD.  I am Irish American.

MM.  Where did you go to college and what degrees did you earn?
JD.  I had a kind of meandering educational experience. After dropping out of Salem State College, where I was an English major, I worked for several years. (My favorite job was being a racehorse groom.) Then I went to the Art Institute of Boston, a three year studio art school. A few years after that I began attending the University of New Hampshire in Durham, where I earned a BFA in Painting. Then after working as a studio artist and book designer for quite a few years I went back to school once again, this time to Simmons College in Boston, to take graduate courses on a part time basis at first. Eventually I earned a degree in Cultural/Gender Studies. My thesis titled, "Intangible Concerns, Material Means: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Aids Memorial Quilt" looked at how these memorials create spaces for mourning, public discourse, and the eventual integration of these marginalized groups into the mainstream.

MM.  What is your least favorite cultural phenomenon of the last twenty years?
JD.  I love listening to the radio. There are some very creative things being done there. However, radio also produces some of my least favorite programs too. One of the most destructive forms of popular culture is a talk radio program that promotes angry and aggressive confrontations or ridicule people. It’s ugly to listen to and very disheartening. It promotes divisiveness about the very issues that we need to work together on as a nation. I think it has had an impact on how civil we are to each other both publicly and privately.

MM.  If you could say one thing to President Bush, what would it be?
JD.  Find ways that will enhance the possibility of having continuing and honest dialogues with the people you disagree with so that reasonable and workable solutions to our problems can be developed.  Don’t be manipulative. And I would say the same thing to his critics and opponents.

MM.  Exactly 21 years ago this week the Challenger shuttle exploded.  Where were you when it happened?
JD.  At the time I was working at a small publishing company in Dover, New Hampshire – my first "real" job.  I was listening to a live broadcast of the launch on the radio. My first thought was that this must be a terrible moment in many classrooms across the country, since so many children were watching because Crista McAuliffe was on board. And of course I felt very sad for the families of all the astronauts. That all of us were witnessing it in the moment.

MM.  Can you name an accomplishment in your adult life that you want students to know about?
JD.  My greatest accomplishment of my adult life was figuring out how to live in a way that is engaging and meaningful on a daily basis. This included finding work that was creative and satisfying, developing and maintaining good relationships, and recognizing the moment-to-moment value of life.  

MM.  There are a lot of problems in the world.  What would you begin to change first?
JD.  My top priority would be to stop harming and begin repairing the damage we have done and are continuously doing to the earth. Within that area I believe our first concern must be to do whatever we can to slow down global warming. The effects of global warming are not only catastrophic for plants and animals –in some cases threatening their extinction-- but also for the poorest peoples of the world.