![\"Russo\"](\"http:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Russo.jpg\")
<\/a>Russo<\/p><\/div>With several distinguished achievements under his belt \u2014 including a Pulitzer Prize for his 2001 novel titled Empire Falls<\/em> \u2014 Russo knows the key to good literature. He will discuss his 1997 book, Straight Man.<\/em> The novel tells the tale of William Henry Devereaux Jr., a reluctant chairman of the English Department in an underfunded Pennsylvania college, who in the course of a week has his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagines his wife is having an affair with the dean, and wonders if an adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits. All of this leads to the pinnacle where he threatens to kill one of the campus ducks every day on television until his departmental budget is finalized. <\/p>\n His talk and all lectures in the series will take place at 7 p.m. in Doermann Theater, located in University Hall on Main Campus. Space is limited for the free, public lectures, so attendees are encouraged to register for tickets in advance at utoledo.edu\/honorslecture<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRichard Russo is well-known within academic communities for this book, Straight Man.<\/em> Its setting is a fictionalized university within the Midwest,\u201d said Kelly Moore, interim dean of the Jesup Scott Honors College. <\/p>\n \u201cRichard Russo is a keen observer of what is around him. Often we take for granted what we see, hear or do every day. He is also a writer who reminds us of the importance of paying back \u2014 gratitude for those individuals and places that helped to shape us is often overlooked in our 24\/7 environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Following Russo, two more speakers are set for the 2015-16 Honors College Distinguished Lecture Series lineup: <\/p>\n \u2022 Monday, Feb. 1 \u2014 Steve Wozniak, a Silicon Valley icon and entrepreneur. Wozniak is known for co-founding Apple Computer Inc. with Steve Jobs.<\/p>\n \u2022 Tuesday, April 5 \u2014 Ann Bancroft, one of the world\u2019s pre-eminent polar explorers. Bancroft is an internationally recognized leader who is dedicated to inspiring women, girls and audiences around the world to unleash the power of their dreams.<\/p>\n<\/a>“I’m looking forward to talking about my novel Straight Man<\/em> with the good folks at The University of Toledo, where I plan to kill a duck a day until my demands are met,” Russo joked. <\/p>\n