English Department Meeting: Apr. 17, 2024

English Department Meeting Information

Zoom Meeting Link

Meeting Minutes Takers

Language, Literature, and Writing First! Department Meeting

Minutes

Thanks to Emily Wender for taking minutes at our department meeting on March 6
Thanks to Emily and Dan Weinstein for helping Gian with the Advising Pizza Party on March 25

Congratulations

Important Dates & Information

Joint Department End of the Semester Celebration

Agenda Items

1. On Change

2. English Department Reflection

Writing/Reflection Prompt
- What are our strengths as a department?
- What makes us unique?
- What are our best qualities as a department which we want to help bring to our new department?
Breakout Room Discussion
Full Discussion

3. Paper Student Evaluation Forms and New Process for Online Student Evaluations

Gian will deliver the paper student evaluation forms to your offices today
Pencils are in the mailroom
- Please use them and then return them promptly so other people will have access to them too
Starting Fall 2024 all student evaluations will be done online
Faculty will be able to request their own student evaluations and access them independently after the semester ends
A process will be worked out for required evaluations
APSCUF piloted this process, and it seems to work really well

4. Language, Literature, and Writing Merger Update

Our great new name was approved by MarComm
Final approval will come from APSCUF and the Provost
Joint department meeting on May 1 @ 11:30 a.m. in 113 Jane Leonard (in person)
Policies and committees are set for 1 year
Formal policies, committee structures, and committee membership will be determined next year
We will be using a joint LLW Leadership Council
The Merger Committee is developing 2 key documents: 1 on protecting all faculty positions and 1 on teaching being based on faculty disciplinary expertise
- These documents will be discussed at the May 1 meeting

5. Elections

Thanks to English Department Elections Committee Members: Tanya Heflin and Ken Sherwood
Members still needed for new committees
1 year terms
Elections for Chair and Committees on April 24 and 25

6. Summer School 2024

Course assignments will be coming this week
People already turned in their preferences awhile ago!
Gian will be using the English Summer Rotation
Thanks to Todd Thompson who worked up that rotation before he went on sabbatical this semester
Contracts will be coming ASAP too since Gian was literally just told yesterday that they are due Friday
Gian and Melanie Holm will serve as Chair for Summer 2024
Heide Witthoeft will be serving as Chair for Foreign Language for Summer 2024
A new Summer/Winter School Committee will work up a new rotation policy to be used for Winter 2024 assignments and beyond

7. Reminders

Please turn in Travel Vouchers ASAP
There will be a bit of a delay on book orders
Please get graduation checkouts and junior year reviews done ASAP and sent to Melanie Holm

8. Program and Curriculum Updates

MA TESOL (Curt Porter–Director)
- Placed into Moratorium
- Thanks to Curt for submitting this curriculum revisions
Merger of MA Composition and Literature with MA Literature in Process
- New Program Name: Ma in Literature and Composition
- MA in Literature and Composition Program Committee
  - Chris Orchard (MA Director)
  - Mike Williamson (L&C Director)
  - Melanie Holm (CAL Co-Director)
  - Gloria Park (CAL Co-Director)
  - Ken Sherwood

9. Kathleen Jones White Writing Center and Center for Scholarly Communication

10. Thanks

I’ve loved being a part of the English Department for 28 years
We have always been a standout department, one of the best in the country
We are great teachers and scholars and we work hard doing tons of service
Most importantly, we are a group of really nice people
All of that will help us make the new Department of Language, Literature, and Writing great too!

10. A Song for the New Era