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Alumni Spotlight: Sid Dobrin, Class of 1989
The professor and chair of the Department of English at the University of Florida has recently published a new book
University News | December 13, 2023
Alumnus Sid Dobrin’s new book, “AI and Writing,” has just been published by Broadview Press. “It’s the first college textbook designed to integrate Generative AI in writing intensive classrooms,” said Dobrin, who majored in English and art while at Virginia Wesleyan.
After his graduation from Virginia Wesleyan in 1989, Dobrin continued his education at Old Dominion University, earning a Master of Arts degree in 1991. He then earned a doctorate in 1995 from the University of South Florida.
He still has deep connections to Virginia Wesleyan—his mother, Dora, who is now retired, was a member of the faculty and his brother Ben is currently a professor of social work and dean of the D. Henry Watts School of Professional Studies at VWU.
“It’s kind of hard to be a Dobrin and not be connected to VWU,” he noted. “My brothers and I spent our childhoods on that campus. It’s part of our home.”
Dobrin is currently Professor and Chair of the Department of English at the University of Florida (UF). He’s the Founding Director of the TRACE Innovation Initiative, an Adobe Digital Thought Leader, and member of the Florida Institute for National Security (FINS). He’s been at UF for 26 years and has been chair of the Department of English for the last 9 years. He’s also held roles as an assistant professor at the University of Kansas and as a SCUBA instructor.
He says his time at Virginia Wesleyan taught him an appreciation for liberal arts education, for creative thinking, and for pushing limits.
His best memories include so many good times. “Burgers in the old snack bar (nobody made a burger like Terry; plus they still served beer on campus back then); Battle of the bands; the day we smashed the window in Birdsong with a lacrosse ball and Dean Buckingham and Coach Forsythe offered me, Rob Donahue ‘89 and Chrisitan Sava ’90 the resources to start the VW lacrosse team; all the times with the lax team (Ralph may still be on the rap van); or that night in the Hamptons when . . . never mind, there may still be lawsuits pending. Yeah, lots of memories, most good, some hazy.”
We asked him which professors and/or coaches had greatest impact on him. “Well, I’d get in trouble if I didn’t say Mom! Realistically, though, everything I’ve done is the result of learning from VW faculty, deans, coaches, administrators, and my VW friends. To list them would take pages.”
“With every book or article I publish, every talk I give, every student I teach, every bottle I pour, Virginia Wesleyan is creeping around in my thoughts reminding me of where I came from. I may be a diehard Gator, but I’ll always be a Marlin at heart.”