Giving to RWU is a Home Run for Professor Tackach
Lincoln, Baseball and a Lifetime Love of American Lit
The study of English, says Professor Emeritus James Tackach, prepares students well for life and careers. “Students in literature courses must read carefully, think critically and write clearly,” he said. “These are excellent lifetime skills.”
Literature has defined his own life and career. Born in New Jersey, Professor Tackach earned a BA in English from Montclair State College and his MA and Ph.D. degrees in English from the University of Rhode Island (URI). He is the first in his family to get a college degree, a master’s degree and a Ph.D.
His teaching career began with an assistantship at URI in 1976. After that, he became an adjunct faculty member at Rogers Wiliams College (today, University), the Community College of Rhode Island and the college program at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institution.
In 1981, he became the Writing Center director at RWC and, in 1987, a full-time faculty member in the Department of English. “I love American literature,” he said. “I enjoyed teaching survey courses, including Early and Modern American Literature. I also enjoyed teaching special topics courses, especially Ernest Hemingway, the Civil War, and African American and American social protest literature.”
“Giving annually has always been important to me, but a planned gift allowed me to invest in the future of Roger Williams University. Planned giving is a powerful way to ensure generations of students will benefit from the education we so deeply believe in.”
Outside the classroom, Professor Tackach is a prolific writer whose work encompasses multiple topics and genres. He has written or edited nearly 200 books, articles and conference presentations. His interests include travel, history, sports, humor, short fiction, poetry, criticism and personal narrative. His works are aimed variously at general readers, young adults and academics.
“My books on Abraham Lincoln are publication high points,” he said. “I’ve been interested in the Civil War since I was a kid playing with toy Civil War soldiers.”
Filmmaker Ken Burns’s PBS series The Civil War sparked Professor Tackach’s interest in Lincoln’s writing. “During my first sabbatical, I wrote Lincoln’s Moral Vision: The Second Inaugural Address. I’ve remained interested in Lincoln and the Civil War, and I regularly review books for The Lincoln Herald, an academic journal.”
Baseball is another passion. “I’ve loved the New York Yankees since I was a kid,” he said. “My earliest baseball memory is Pittsburgh Pirate Bill Mazeroski’s game-winning homer against the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. When my mother came home from work, I was crying,” he continued. “‘What happened?’ she asked. ‘The Yankees lost the Series.’ ‘Don’t cry, they’ll win next year,’ she said. She was right. The Yanks won the next two.”
Baseball writing opportunities have come his way over the years, including The Fields of Summer: America’s Great Ballparks and the Players Who Triumphed in Them and biographies of baseball greats, among them Henry Aaron and Roy Campanella.
Today, Professor Tackach continues to write and spends time fishing, running, and enjoying Yankees games. He serves on the board of The Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence.
After giving regularly to RWU for years, Professor Tackach made a sizeable donation upon his retirement and has included the university in his will.
His estate gift is dedicated to establishing the James Tackach Professorship of the Feinstein School of Humanities. To encourage others, he has pledged $50,000 to match gifts from donors who make qualifying planned gifts of their own.