Monday Missive – May 2, 2016

May 02, 2016 by Mark West
Categories: Monday Missive
Dean Nancy Gutierrez and award winners

Dean Nancy Gutierrez and award winners

Celebrating Our Part-Time Faculty Members — Last week Allison Hutchcraft received the CLAS Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member.  I sat next to Allison during the awards ceremony, and I felt so proud of her when it was announced that she had won the award.  My pride, however, extends to our entire cadre of part-time faculty members.  The English Department is fortunate to have such dedicated and professional part-time faculty members teaching high-demand courses and contributing in many other ways to the work of the department.
Our program in technical/professional writing program benefits greatly from the work of our part-time faculty.  When I had to cover Myles Hassell’s technical/professional writing courses after his unexpected death, two part-time faculty members–Melodye Gordon and Lane Rhodes–picked up his courses and helped his students deal with their grief over losing their teacher.  Connie Douglas, another part-time faculty member, also helps us meet the tremendous demand for Introduction to Technical Communication (ENGL 2116).

Our creative writing program benefits tremendously from the contributions of our part-time faculty members.  In addition to Allison, these part-time faculty members include Paula Martinac, Coleen Muir, and Lance Phillips.  Not only do they teach a variety of creative writing courses, but they have also helped organize poetry readings and other events open to our students and faculty.

We have several part-time faculty members who teach core courses in the English Department curriculum or the general education courses offered by the department.  These faculty members include Valerie Bright, Sonya Brockman, Saxby Chaplin, Abby Dobs, Peter Larkin, Sarah Minslow, Tiffany Morin, and Sam Shapiro.  Not only do these colleagues teach essential courses for the department, but they all participate in the culture of the department.  They attend departmental events, provide students with extra help, and contribute to the department’s research agenda.

I know that many administrators call part-time faculty members adjunct faculty, but I do not like this term.  To me, the term adjunct implies being on the periphery, and our part-time faculty members are not on the periphery of the department. They are right in the middle of our department.  My thanks go to all of our part-time faculty members for everything they do.

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:

Bryn Chancellor recently gave a fiction reading and craft talk at Vanderbilt University as part of the Harold and Gertrude Vanderbilt Visiting Writers Series.
Heather Vorhies recently learned that her article titled “Women and Corporate Communication in the Early American Republic” has been accepted for publication in Peitho Journal.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is an important date to keep in mind:May 4  —  The English Department’s Student Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 4, from 12:30–2:00 in the Halton Reading Room at Atkins Library.

Quirky Quiz Question —  In addition to teaching creative writing courses, Allison Hutchcraft is a publishing poet.  She has published a number of poems that make reference to a particular type of bird that was once common in America.  Do you know what type of birds do so often show up in Allison’s poems?

Last week’s answer: Sam Watson

At the English Department spring party, both Lil Brannon and Connie Rothwell were honored as they complete their last semester before retiring.  After I presented them with their retirement gifts, they both talked about their experiences in the department.  Both of them mentioned a retired colleague who now lives in McClellanville, SC, and writes poetry.  What is the name of this retired English professor?