Austin Bound — In a few days, four members of our Eco-Studies Search Committee (Jen Munroe, Kirk Melnikoff, Juan Meneses, and Alan Rauch) will be heading off to Austin, Texas, to interview candidates at this year’s MLA Convention. Tony Jackson, who is also a member of the search committee, will stay in Charlotte to tend the home fires. I am very impressed with the dedication and hard work of this search committee, and I am looking forward to hearing about the MLA interviews with the candidates for this position.
As I see it, serving on search committees is one of the most important service roles performed by faculty members. Of course, when the finalists come to campus for their interviews, our attention is on the candidates, not the members of the search committee. For this reason, I think it is appropriate to take a moment before finalists come to campus to acknowledge the work of the search committee members. The process of screening the applications, conducting interviews with candidates, and organizing campus visits takes a tremendous amount of time and attention to details. My thanks go to everyone on the Eco-Studies Search Committee for their work on this search.
There are two other English faculty members who are also serving on search committees. Becky Roeder is serving on the University Writing Program’s Digital Rhetoric Search Committee, and Janaka Lewis is serving on the Women’s and Gender Studies Search Committee for a tenure-track position in Global Approaches to Gender and Health. I appreciate the willingness of Becky and Janaka to serve on these search committee.
Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Alan Rauch recently traveled to Boone, NC, to work with colleagues on the planning/organizing committee for the forthcoming (March 10-13) meeting of the Interdisciplinary Nineteenth Century Studies Society (INCS). The conference, titled “Natural and Unnatural Histories,” will be held in Asheville.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is a date to keep in mind:
January 11 — The first day of classes for the Spring 2016 semester is January 11.
Quirky Quiz Question — In addition to hosting this year’s MLA Convention, Austin is featured in a popular music program that is televised on PBS. What is the name of this program?
Last Quirky Quiz answer: Joseph Campbell
When George Lucas wrote the screenplay for the original Star Wars movie, he was strongly influenced by a book titled A Hero with a Thousand Faces. What is the name of the author of this book?