Dowling College - Faculty - Bill Thierfelder

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Dr. Bill Thierfelder
Associate Professor of English
Dowling College
Oakdale, NY

Hi! I’m Dr. Bill Thierfelder, Professor of English. I’ve been at Dowling College since the fall of 1985, when I blew in with Hurricane Gloria. Needless to say, it was a memorable first semester. The semesters since may have been less stormy, but all have been quite wonderful: I truly enjoy teaching here. The small class sizes allow my students and me to get to know each other and to grow in knowledge and understanding of the world around us.

A little about me: I have an undergraduate degree in English with a minor in theater and music history; two Master’s degrees, one in English (with a concentration in contemporary drama and poetry) and one in Theology (with an emphasis on medieval spirituality and world religions); and a Doctorate in English (my dissertation was on modern drama and opera).

I jokingly say that I have a four-part life: Obviously one aspect of who I am is a teacher—though I’d like to consider myself more of a mentor who challenges students through the study of literature and the arts to become a more fully-developed human being. Click on the following link to see the courses that I teach most regularly: http://www.thierfelderwilliams.com/frequentlytaughtcourses.html

I am also a professional artist. You can access recent work on the website of the New York Gallery where I regularly show my work www.monkdogz.com (Just click on artists, and you’ll see my name). You may also see a television interview about my work on the WCBS website: http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=102204@wcbs.dayport.com

In addition to my current artwork, you may also view my work as a photographer at my website: http://www.thierfelderwilliams.com/photography.html

As a writer, I publish under the name T. Richard Williams. On my website, you can access recent work published in several journals including Wild Violet, Aphelion, and ShadeWorks: http://www.thierfelderwilliams.com/writing.html I also write a regular column for Outlook Long Island, a quarterly magazine devoted to issues important to the gay and lesbian community: http://www.outlooklongisland.com/ You may explore a list of all my publications at my website: http://www.thierfelderwilliams.com/publications.html

Finally, as a composer, my work has been performed over the years by small professional groups around the country and my three one-act operas, Trilogy, were performed in New York at CAMI Hall. Recent compositions have explored ambient/environmental music, minimalism, and New Age music.

In addition to these passions, I am also actively involved in philanthropy and social justice issues. Besides active involvement with Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth (LIGALY), Thursday’s Child (a Suffolk-based relief agency for persons living with HIV/AIDS), and New York AIDS Walk, I have started an annual scholarship for an academically worthy LGBT student at Dowling, The Matthew Shepard-Sakia Gunn Scholarship: http://www.dowling.edu/fin_aid/shepard.html

My Photo Album

Faculty portrait by Cliff Satriano