Interview with Laurie L. Bottoms, March 11, 1992

Interview Summary

Professor Laurie Louise Shafer Bottoms was born in Towanda, Pennsylvania in 1939. She comes from a long-line of educators, and states that she learned early to appreciate literature and writing. Bottoms describes how much she values education and how crucial it is in life to share knowledge with other people.

In 1956, Bottoms entered the College of William and Mary. She graduated in 1960 with a major in English and a French minor. While at William and Mary, Bottoms was an officer of the Woman's Student Government, and served as a President's Aide, a privilege granted to six to seven outstanding graduates of the year. In 1970, Bottoms started her graduate work at Fordham University on the Rose Hill campus in New York. She finished her PhD at Fordham in 1979. In 1980, Bottoms went to Columbia University for postgraduate work and was certified as a school district administrator.

For the last twenty years, Professor Laurie Bottoms has been teaching English in public and private high schools and colleges. She came to UK in July of 1991 to join her husband in Lexington. She is an assistant professor and director of the Bluegrass Writing Project. At the time of this interview, Bottoms was preparing to leave her position and take a new challenging job as the executive director of The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning.

Interview Keyword

Nature of Academic Work

Interview LC Subject

Bottoms, Laurie Louise Shafer, 1939- Bottoms, Laurie Louise Shafer, 1939- --Interviews University of Kentucky University of Kentucky--History

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.