Diane Thiel, Director of Creative Writing, and Anita Obermeier, Chair of English, arranged a lunch with novelist Michael McGarrity and the three winners of the Hillerman/McGarrity scholarship: Ana June, David O’Connor, and Camilla Schaaff-Allison. McGarrity is a New Mexican author and former law enforcement officer who has written a dozen crime and historical novels set in New Mexico. He attended UNM for three years and graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree with distinction in English and Psychology. He also earned a master’s degree in clinical social work from the University of Iowa and is a graduate of the New Mexico Law Enforcement academy. In addition to law enforcement work, he has been an investigator and caseworker for the New Mexico Public Defender’s Office. He worked on rehabilitating prison programs after the New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot in 1980. McGarrity has taught at several colleges and universities, as well as at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. As a social worker, he published a number of articles in professional journals on a wide range of topics, ranging from therapy programs for children to program assessment and evaluation, and drug treatment interventions.
He has been invited to present here at UNM in the Spring, so we look forward to seeing more of Michael McGarrity soon.
