20 Questions with Lee Pelton
Photo by Derek Palmer
Lee Pelton is the 12th President of Emerson College.
Follow him on Instagram at @lee.pelton.
- What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A 50-mile late afternoon bicycle ride in the Vermont hills followed by a very nice Oregon Willamette Valley or Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, great cheese, and a baguette.
- If you could study any field aside from your own, what would it be?
African American studies or urban planning.
- Whom do you most admire?
Nelson Mandela and my father.
- What are three adjectives you’d use to describe Emerson?
Creative, innovative, and collaborative.
- Where is your favorite spot at Emerson?
Looking up at the Paramount Center marquee.
- Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Extraordinary.
- What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My three children.
- What is your greatest regret?
That I didn’t take up cycling until later in life.
- Who are your favorite writers?
The list is too long. I have dozens of favorite writers.
- Reading on a Kindle or other device: Yay or nay?
Never.
- If you could have dinner with one person—alive or dead—who would it be?
Muhammad Ali.
- If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Time travel.
- Coffee or tea?
Neither. No caffeine.
- Beach or mountains?
Mountains.
- Broadway or Hollywood?
Both.
- If you could spend 48 hours in any city around the globe, where would you go?
Aix-en-Provence.
- What song are you most embarrassed to love?
“Christmas Is All Around” (from Love Actually)
- You’re stranded on an island. What three possessions would you not be able to live without?
A great 1,000 plus–page novel, a notebook, and a pen.
- What is your motto?
Make no small plans because small plans don’t inspire the hearts and minds of people.
- What’s the best thing about Emerson?
Our students—they are the best (most of the time).
