An Interview With Dr. Dupree
Angela Cuba
Issue date: 12/6/06 Section: News
Before I get to the heart of this interview, there are a few things you might want to know about Dr. Dupree. How about that he received his B.A. at UD (yes our UD!), and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Yale? That in a career spanning four decades, he has taught in five different departments, up to twenty-five different courses, been the head of the library, director of the Rome Program and currently is the chair of the Modern Language department? Not impressed? He was the first student from UD to receive the National Graduate Scholarship, the first to receive the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and the first to receive a Fullbright Scholarship. Needless to say, I was a bit bowled over by the man neatly categorized as "basically a genius".
UN: Which have you enjoyed more, being a student or a professor at UD?
Dr. Dupree: Well, that's a hard one. Sometimes I think that professors are just students who have stayed too long.
UN: What is the greatest change you have observed in UD during the last 50 years?
Dr. Dupree: In 1960 [we began to develop the character of the University]. That was the year we decided to make everyone at an honors student.
UN: How would you like to see the University change?
Dr. Dupree: Grow. Not too much, maybe to 5000 or 6000. I would like a new library. We have some wonderful faculty, and I would like to see their programs expanded. I love physics, and would like to see the sciences integrated with the humanities.
UN: If you could impart on bit of wisdom on the students, it would be….
Dr. Dupree: Love what you study, study what you love.
UN: Favorite word:
Dr. Dupree: Aletheia. In Greek, it is sometimes translated as truth. It literally means "revealing".
UN: Most beloved heroic virtue and or hero:
Dr. Dupree: Virtue? Steadfastness. And hero, Odysseus. He's clever, well rounded, good at lots of different things, and a sensible ruler.
UN: If you had the chance to undo any grievous misconception in history, it would be…
Dr. Dupree: The Ptolemaic conception of the world…which puts earth at the center.
UN: If you could shake hands with anyone, it would be…
Dr. Dupree: Rabelais
UN: You have always wanted to be on the game show…
Dr. Dupree: What's my line.
UN: What do you consider your grandest adventure?
Dr. Dupree: Riding in a carriage pulled by horses in the Valley of the Kings with a friend who was doing excavations.
UN: Anything exciting in the future for you?
Dr. Dupree: Yes. We're working on proposing a major called Comparative Literary Tradition, which will allow students to study literature in different languages. It's a bit like a continuation of Literary Tradition, but the student will read the text in the original language!
UN: What is your secret to success?
Dr. Dupree: Hard work and enjoying what you do. If you enjoy what you do, you will work hard at it.
UN: Which have you enjoyed more, being a student or a professor at UD?
Dr. Dupree: Well, that's a hard one. Sometimes I think that professors are just students who have stayed too long.
UN: What is the greatest change you have observed in UD during the last 50 years?
Dr. Dupree: In 1960 [we began to develop the character of the University]. That was the year we decided to make everyone at an honors student.
UN: How would you like to see the University change?
Dr. Dupree: Grow. Not too much, maybe to 5000 or 6000. I would like a new library. We have some wonderful faculty, and I would like to see their programs expanded. I love physics, and would like to see the sciences integrated with the humanities.
UN: If you could impart on bit of wisdom on the students, it would be….
Dr. Dupree: Love what you study, study what you love.
UN: Favorite word:
Dr. Dupree: Aletheia. In Greek, it is sometimes translated as truth. It literally means "revealing".
UN: Most beloved heroic virtue and or hero:
Dr. Dupree: Virtue? Steadfastness. And hero, Odysseus. He's clever, well rounded, good at lots of different things, and a sensible ruler.
UN: If you had the chance to undo any grievous misconception in history, it would be…
Dr. Dupree: The Ptolemaic conception of the world…which puts earth at the center.
UN: If you could shake hands with anyone, it would be…
Dr. Dupree: Rabelais
UN: You have always wanted to be on the game show…
Dr. Dupree: What's my line.
UN: What do you consider your grandest adventure?
Dr. Dupree: Riding in a carriage pulled by horses in the Valley of the Kings with a friend who was doing excavations.
UN: Anything exciting in the future for you?
Dr. Dupree: Yes. We're working on proposing a major called Comparative Literary Tradition, which will allow students to study literature in different languages. It's a bit like a continuation of Literary Tradition, but the student will read the text in the original language!
UN: What is your secret to success?
Dr. Dupree: Hard work and enjoying what you do. If you enjoy what you do, you will work hard at it.
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