Monthly Archives: December 2016

Postscripts — My wife always reads my Monday Missives, and she mentioned to me that last week’s Monday Missive read like it was my last Monday Missive of the Fall 2016 semester.  However, the word “missive” is an old-fashioned word for “letter,” and old-fashioned letters often included postscripts, so I decided to close out the semester with a few postscripts.

Commencement Report — Last Saturday the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences held its winter commencement ceremony, and for 82 of our students, this ceremony marked their transition from current students to graduates.  A total of 11 of our graduate students are listed in the commencement program, and 71 undergraduate students are listed.

I was especially impressed with how many of our BA students fall under the heading of “Graduation with Distinction.”  Of the 71 students, 7 earned the distinction of Cum Laude (GPA between 3.4-3.7), 4 earned the distinction of Magna Cum Laude (GPA between 3.7-3.9), and 3 earned the distinction of Summa Cum Laude (GPA between 3.9-4.0).  This total comes to 14 students. I am very proud of all of our graduating students, but I want to mention by name the 3 students who earned the distinction of Summa Cum Laude.  Their names are Megan Renee Bonds, Jasmin Marie Gonzalez Caban, and Kevin F. Wetherall.

Jen Munroe’s News — Sometimes good things come in threes, and this seems to be the case with Jen.  Three exciting opportunities recently came her way.  Jen (with Hillary Nunn from U of Akron and Amy Tigner from UT Arlington) will be teaching a summer course next May titled, “Making Manuscripts Digital.” This course will be part of the DH@Guelph Summer Workshops at the University of Guelph. Their participation is supported with an honorarium and expenses paid.  Jen will also be an invited participant in the Folger Institute program, “Early Modern Manuscripts Online: New Directions in Teaching and Research,” May 17-18, 2017.  She has been asked to present during a round table titled, “EMMO Pedagogical and Research Community.” That participation is also expenses paid.  And finally, Jen has been asked to contribute a chapter to a forthcoming essay collection co-edited by Hillary Eklund and Wendy Beth Hyman titled, Shakespeare and the Pedagogies of Justice. Her chapter will take up the question of teaching environmental justice and early modern texts.
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’s forthcoming novel, Sycamore (Harper, May 9, 2017), was chosen for Publisher Weekly’s spring 2017 preview, which selects the top 50 books in varied categories “to predict which books will stand out in the early months of 2017—which will make it to the top, in terms of attention, sales, and awards and prizes.” Chancellor’s is included in literary fiction. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/72259-spring-2017-announcements-literary-fiction.html

Jeffrey Leak has accepted an invitation from Malin Pereira to serve as faculty fellow for the new Martin Scholars Program.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about an upcoming event.

January 9 – The first day of classes for the Spring 2017 semester is January 9.

Quirky Quiz Question — In thinking about the term “missive,” I am reminded that some novels are told through a series of letters (or missives).  What is the term that is generally used for such novels?

Last week’s answer: Al Maisto

Malin Pereira is the current Executive Director of the Honors College.  Does anybody remember who ran the Honors College before Malin?

Turning Pages — I often think of semesters as chapters in a larger story.  As we prepare to turn the last page of the chapter about the fall 2016 semester, I am impressed with how much happened in this chapter.  We saw the debut of new characters, such as Melodye Gordon, Matthew Osborne, and Matthew Rowney.  We saw established characters take on new roles, such as Sarah Minslow, Jen Munroe, and Lara Vetter.  A whole new advising system came into place over the course of this chapter.  For me, however, the parts of the chapter that I’ve underlined with a yellow Hi-Liter are the passages that deal with the launching of the English Honors Program.  In the short span of one semester, our English Honors Program went from the glimmer of an idea to a vibrant program that has already attracted the involvement of 32 undergraduate students.

The launching of the English Honors Program could not have happened without the help of many members of the English Department.  At the top of the list is Kirk Melnikoff, who is serving as the director of the program.  Janaka Lewis has worked closely with Kirk to coordinate the connections between the English Honors Program and Sigma Tau Delta.  Aaron Toscano taught an English Honors Seminar this semester, and Monica Alston worked with Kirk to communicate with the students in the program.  Malin Pereira, the Executive Director of the Honors College, helped Kirk solve the logistical problems involved with launching our program.  Finally, too many faculty members to mention by name have agreed to work with our honors students on their thesis projects.  My thanks go to everyone who helped launch the English Honors Program.

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:

Sandy Govan was recently featured on a syndicated radio program about Maya Angelou.  Here is the link to the radio program:  withgoodreasonradio.org

Malin Pereira recently published an essay titled “Brenda Marie Osbey’s Black Internationalism” in Diasporas, Cultures of Mobilities,’Race’ 3: African Americans, ‘Race’ and Diaspora.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about an upcoming event.

December 13 – The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Celebration of Faculty Achievement will take place on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, from 12:00 to 1:00 at the Harris Alumni Center.

Quirky Quiz Question — Malin Pereira is the current Executive Director of the Honors College.  Does anybody remember who ran the Honors College before Malin?

Last week’s answer: First the bank was called North Carolina National Bank.  Then it was called NCNB.  Then it was called NationsBank, and now it is called Bank of America.

In addition to mentoring Ron Lunsford, Roy Moose was well known for teaching courses on the works of Shakespeare.  In fact, he was the first member of the English Department to win the teaching award that is now known as the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence.  When he won the award in 1969, however, the award reflected the name of the bank at that time.  Does anybody know what Bank of America was called then?

Nudging as Mentoring — Last week I had a conversation with Ron Lunsford about his experiences as an undergraduate student in our English Department in the late 1960s.  Like many of our current students, Ron was a first-generation college student.  The thought of going to graduate school or pursuing a career in academia never occurred to him until some of his professors suggested that he consider applying for graduate school.  Ron credits an English professor named Roy Moose with providing the necessary nudge to apply to the M.A. program at UNC Chapel Hill.  This nudge proved to be a key moment in launching Ron’s career in academia.  As the saying goes, the rest is history.

The mentoring that Ron received from Roy Moose and other professors at UNC Charlotte underscores for me the importance of nudging in the mentoring process.  Sometimes students need a little push, a word of encouragement, or a suggestion to pursue opportunities.  For those of us who are working with talented undergraduate students, I suggest that we follow Roy Moose’s example and suggest to these students that they consider applying to graduate programs, including our own M.A. program.  Some of our best graduate students received their undergraduate degrees from UNC Charlotte.  For those of us who are working with graduate students, I suggest that we nudge these students to submit an abstract for the upcoming upcoming English Graduate Student Association Conference. The deadline to submit an abstract is today.  Please click on the following link for the paper call:  http://english.uncc.edu/sites/english.uncc.edu/files/media/2017%20EGSA%20Call%20for%20Papers%20Final.pdf

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:

Paula Connolly published a review essay in the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.  She reviewed two scholarly works about picture books:  Reading Visual Narrative:  Image Analysis of Children’s Picture Books  and Picture Books:  Beyond the Borders of Art, Narrative and Culture.

Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about an upcoming event.

December 8 – The Department Holiday Party will take place from 11:30-1:30 in the faculty/staff lounge on December 8. A sign-up sheet for donated goodies is on the front reception desk.

Quirky Quiz Question — In addition to mentoring Ron Lunsford, Roy Moose was well known for teaching courses on the works of Shakespeare.  In fact, he was the first member of the English Department to win the teaching award that is now known as the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence.  When he won the award in 1969, however, the award reflected the name of the bank at that time.  Does anybody know what Bank of America was called then?

Last week’s answer: Professor Sprout

In the Harry Potter series, the students at Hogwarts study science, but the J. K. Rowling often substitutes her own terms when referring to these subjects.  For example, she uses the term herbology when referring to botany.  What is the name of the professor at Hogwarts who teaches herbology?