Thomas Duncan Rider

Born in 1939, I grew up in a small town in Iowa, sixty miles northeast of Des Moines, amongst Germans, English, Danes, and ‘Bohemies’ (mostly Slovakians). The town of Garwin thrived in fields of corn, oats, clover, and soybeans. My dad was a grocer and eventually the Tama County Assessor; my mom, a substitute teacher. After high school, I continued my wonderful Iowa education at Iowa State University, then on to the University of Michigan, and finally the University of Minnesota.

 

I taught mathematics for a year in a Minneapolis high school and history for five years at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. My field of scholarly interest was South Asia; my dissertation was on the economic policies of the British in India. I won a Fulbright to study in India, 1967 to 1968. Denied tenure at Winthrop, I went back out to India to do more research in 1970 to 1972. I made a long visit back there in 1991.

 

Jobless when I returned in 1972, married, with one son, I took a position at Goerings Book Store, then located on that grassy plot at University and Thirteenth. I was nominated as Bookseller of the Year in 2004. The store moved to the Westgate shopping area, and then back to College Park, closing in March 2010. I now have an interesting job; I am the Executive Director of the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra.

 

I have served on the Boards of both the American Booksellers Association and the ABA’s Foundation for Free Expression, and various local boards and associations.

 

Since coming to Gainesville, I have lived in College Park for most of those years with my spouse, Jane Brockmann, who is a Professor of Biology, UF. I am blessed with three children: Andrew, Peter, and Leslie.