A Semester to Remember — As the fall 2017 semester draws to a close, I think we should take a moment to celebrate the English Department’s record of achievement over the span of one semester.
The semester began with the announcement that the English Department is the 2017 recipient of the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Also at the beginning of the semester, we learned of Kirk Melnikoff’s designation as a finalist for the 2017 Bank of America Teaching Award. Over the course of this semester, several members of the English Department received significant external grants. Bryn Chancellor and Allison Hutchcraft both received fellowships from the North Carolina Council for the Arts, and Sarah Minslow and I received a major grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council to develop community programing around the theme of “The Child Character in Southern Literature and Film.” Just last month, Paula Eckard made the English Department proud with her excellent presentation on her book Thomas Wolfe and Lost Children in Southern Literature for the Personally Speaking Series.
Although these are just a few of the highlights from the 2017 fall semester, they provide ample evidence that the English Department has had a remarkable semester. To rewrite a line by William Gilbert from H.M.S. Pinafore, give three cheers, and one cheer more, for the English Department’s impressive score.
Honors Colloquium — The English Honors Program held its Second Bi-Annual English Honors Colloquium on November 30, 2017. During this event, six of our honors students delivered presentations based on their honors theses. The students who participated are Desiree Brown, Melissa Glass, Jordan Kearney, Elana Moore, Bruce Owen, and Brianna Thurman.
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:
Meghan Barnes recently presented a paper titled “Teacher Research as Reclaiming Education: A Critical Analysis of Two Inquiry-Based Projects” at the Literacy Research Association Conference in Tampa, Florida. She also wrote a blog post for Duke TIP’s Teachers Workshop blog. Her blog post is geared toward middle/high school teachers. Here is the link: Speaking and Listening: Skills We Shouldn’t Skip.
Boyd Davis recently had a chapter titled “Other Interviewing Techniques in Sociolinguistics” published in Data Collection in Sociolinguistics (Rutledge, 2017).
Alan Rauch presented a paper titled “The Animal Image: The Art of Misrepresentation and the Misrepresentation of Art” at the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts (SLSA) in Phoenix, Arizona.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is information about upcoming events and deadlines:
December 13 — Bill Hill’s retirement reception will take place in Robinson Hall from 3:30 to 5:00. RSVP here, or call 7-0051.
December 16 — The Commencement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will take place in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center (SAC) on Saturday, December 16, at 3:00 pm.
December 18 — Final grades for the Fall 2017 term must be submitted by Monday, December 18 at noon.
December 19 — The CLAS Faculty Achievement Celebration will take place in the Harris Alumni Center from 3:30 to 5:30
Quirky Quiz Question — What is the name of the composer who frequently collaborated with William Gilbert?
Last week’s answer: Charlynn Ross
Bill Hill is UNC Charlotte’s first tenure-track faculty member hired to teach in the area now known as communication studies, but he is not UNC Charlotte’s first full-time faculty member to teach in this area. A year before Bill arrived, a lecturer was hired to teach communication studies courses. This lecturer eventually became the director of the University Center for Academic Excellence. Does anybody know the name of this former lecturer?