by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
It takes imagination to make a big career leap and strategy and versatility to land on solid ground. That’s the very stuff Dickinsonians are made of. So in an era when more people are switching careers than ever and, in some cases, doing so several times we asked alumni to show us how it’s done and offer their career-reinvention stories and advice.
Lynn Waldo Smiledge ’75: Keep Learning
Early in her career, Smiledge pivoted within her industry. Then, at age 50, she crafted an entirely different career.
Education: Art history and biology major. B.S., medical arts, University of Toronto.
Norman Rockwell was a surprise luncheon guest at the Abrams table.
At a reception before the luncheon were (l. to r.) Stanton Peckham, book critic of the Denver Post; Lem Wells, publicity director of Crowell Collier Macmillan; Pamela Herr, also of CCM; and Madeline Kraner. arts editor of PW.
Speakers at an authors’ luncheon were (l. to r.) James Dickey, promoting Deliverance (Houghton Mifflin); Santha Rama Rau, who wrote The Adventuress (Harper & Row); and James. W. Gardner, author of The Recovery of Confidence (Norton).
June 1980
Chicago
Attendance was put at nearly 16,500 at the 1980 event, which PW called “subdued.” One source of dissatisfaction ”too few booksellers.”