Learn more about the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop
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There are some people whose footprints and handiwork can be seen all over a community's renaissance, while opting to stay out of the spotlight. Teri Rizvi is one such person.
If you've submitted a piece of writing to the Antioch Writers' Workshop, honed your humor writing craft at the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, or just enjoyed a piping hot slice of deep dish pizza at Uno's Pizzeria and Grill in downtown Dayton, you're experiencing Rizvi's hard work and dedication to her hometown. That's not to say you'd hear it from her lips: "I'm a behind-the-scenes person," she told us.
As the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop prepares to open registration on Dec. 1, we wanted to learn more about Rizvi. Meet the executive director of strategic communications and founder of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop at the University of Dayton, and our Daytonian of the Week.
Are you a native Daytonian?
Teri Rizvi: I'm a native Daytonian. I graduated from Vandalia-Butler High School and earned an associate degree at Sinclair Community College before transferring to Ohio University's journalism school. I received a bachelor's degree in journalism from OU and a master's degree in English from the University of Dayton.
What is your role in the Dayton community?
For the past 28 years, I’ve worked at the University of Dayton under two remarkable presidents — Brother Ray Fitz, S.M., and Dan Curran — whom I consider to be my greatest mentors. For most of that time, I served as associate vice president for University communications and led an award-winning creative team in all aspects of communications — from producing an alumni magazine and marketing pieces to securing national, regional and local media attention. As the University’s spokesperson, I responded to reporters on issues ranging from the purchase of NCR’s former world headquarters to St. Patrick’s Day preparations. It was a terrific job, but I don’t miss the middle-of-the-night phone calls about what one of my favorite administrators euphemistically called “special events” — a little havoc in the student neighborhood.
Today, I’m in a part-time role that allows me to do much of what I love — helping shape communication strategies and writing — while running the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, my passion. It’s the best of all possible worlds.
I also serve on the board of the Antioch Writers' Workshop. So much of my life today is wrapped up in providing writers with encouragement and support.
You founded the Erma Bombeck Humor Writing Workshop in 2000. What piqued you about Bombeck’s writing from the start?
I had the privilege of meeting and working with Erma Bombeck, one of our trustees and arguably our most famous graduate. Early in my career, I helped create a fundraising video. Erma stepped out of a board of trustees’ meeting for the taping. She sat in front of me and told an anecdote about how Marianist Brother Tom Price, her English professor, first told her she had a gift for writing. He said three magic words, “You can write!” Her words, filled with warmth and humility, spoke to me, a young writer.
Years later, working with the Bombeck family and a group of alumni, we launched the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. It was a one-time event, designed to draw attention to the Bombeck family’s donation of Erma’s papers to UD’s archives. Humorist Art Buchwald and “Family Circus” cartoonist Bil Keane headlined the first gathering. We laughed and learned for three days — and realized we could bottle this spirit. I’m humbled by the workshop’s success. In 2014, it sold out in 12 hours, with writers coming from all parts of the country. Thanks to the generosity of UD’s Alumni Association, UD students receive free scholarships. What a great opportunity for our students to learn from Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award winners, authors, humorists, publishers, agents and social media experts.
Today, we’re actively raising money for the workshop’s endowment to ensure that Erma’s legacy lives, that generations of students and writers will always have an opportunity to be part of this supportive workshop.
Why should people know more about Erma in general?
To those who grew up with Erma’s columns hanging on their refrigerator doors, Erma always felt like she could be your next-door neighbor. Her writing captured the foibles of family life in a way that made us laugh at ourselves. “My idea of housework,” she once wrote, “is to sweep the room with a glance.” As a native Daytonian, she inspires community pride. She was one of the warmest, funniest, most unpretentious people I’ve ever met.
Can you describe what the writers’ community is like in Dayton? Do you feel like this is a thriving community of art and literary-minded people?
It's thriving. From Paul Laurence Dunbar to Erma Bombeck, we are a community famous for our literary figures. Beyond the Bombeck Workshop, the community offers other nationally recognized events that celebrate writing. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize and Antioch Writers' Workshop immediately come to mind. Sinclair Community College and the Dayton Daily News run writing competitions. UD hosts LitFest every spring. And our partner, the Washington-Centerville Public Library, sponsors the Erma Bombeck Writing Competition.
You and your husband own Uno’s Pizzeria and Grill in downtown Dayton. Why did you and your family choose to invest in downtown Dayton?
We purchased the restaurant in 2007, rather than see it close because of financial problems. As longtime theatre patrons, we wanted to be part of the rebirth of Dayton and contribute to the economic development of the region. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to invest in downtown. And you can’t beat the pizza.
What do you love about Dayton?
I love the Midwest spirit, the affordability, the friendliness — and the fact that you cannot go to a Dragons game or a restaurant without running into someone you know. It’s a comfortable city to live in.
What are a couple of your go-to restaurants, or places of interest around town?
Our favorite restaurants are on both sides of town — Amar India to the south and the Coldwater Café to the north. And, of course, Unos. We enjoy going to the theatre, concerts at the Rose Center and Fraze and Flyers basketball games, both men and women.
If there were one thing that you could change/improve about Dayton, what would it be?
I wish more people took advantage of what Dayton has to offer — and talked it up. We have an embarrassment of riches in our own backyard — from professional theatre and the attractions at Carillon Park to beautiful parks with recreation and bike trails. It’s a wonderful community to raise a family and find your passion.
What do you wish people knew more about Dayton?
It’s a city of inventors, of people who caught the can-do spirit. This also is a community that believes in collaboration to get things done — from bringing the First Four to town to attracting research dollars and new businesses.
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