English Department Meeting Agenda
- Meeting Date: 2/14/19
- Meeting Location: 225 Humanities and Social Sciences Building
Happy Valentine’s Day!
“Go forth! Be brave! Be proud! Be true!”
- IUP English Professor Jane Leonard (1840-1925)
Welcome Back
- To Heather Powers; we greatly missed you
Don’t Miss Us Too Much (While You Are on Sabbatical)
- Susan Comfort
- Tim Hibsman
Thanks
- To Tony Farrington and Todd Thompson for coordinating the visit by Poet G.C. Waldrep on Feb. 13, 2019
- And thanks to Tony, Todd, Gian, John Branscum, Mary Stewart, and Dan Weinstein for attending this event
- To Dawnette Shellhammer for ordering food for this event
- To Tom Slater for coordinating a showing of Scherazade: Tell Me a Story (2009) by exiled Egyptian filmmaker Yousry Nasrallah on Feb. 11, 2019
- To Tom Slater for coordinating a showing of Wedding in Galilee (1987) by Palestinian director Michel Khleifi on Feb. 4, 2019
Congratulations
To the following English faculty:
- Dana Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew Vetter are taking over editorship of the journal Writing Spaces
- Madeleine Rosa, a senior English/writing studies major with a minor in women’s and gender studies, and current vice president of IUP’s chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society, recently accepted admission to the Goldsmiths University of London, where she will work toward a master’s program in sociocultural linguistics.
- David Downing published Works and Days 70/71, which includes two main parts: “The 40th Anniversary Retrospective” and “Capitalism, Climate Change, and Rhetoric.” Editorial assistants for this volume included IUP Literature and Criticism doctoral candidates Abigail Hennon and Alexander Hagood.
- David Downing’s contribution, “Capitalism,” (pp.405-6) has just appeared in the Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Criticism (2018).
- Todd Thompson delivered a paper at MLA for the American Humor Studies Association’s panel “Pushing Boundaries: American Humor in the Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-First Centuries.” Thompson’s paper was titled “Viral Jokes and Fugitive Humor in the Nineteenth-Century Culture of Reprinting.”
- Dana Driscoll and doctoral candidate Daewoo Jin (Composition and Applied Linguistics Program) published an article titled, “The Box Under the Bed: How Learner Epistemologies Shape Writing Transfer.” The article was published in the most recent issue of Across the Disciplines journal.
- Mary Stewart published an article, “The Community of Inquiry Survey: An Assessment Instrument for Online Writing Courses,” in Computers & Composition
- PhD students John Andelfinger, Shahla Asadolahi, Wenqi Cui, Jialei Jiang, Inggrit Tanasale, and Ebenezer Ylonfoun (Composition and Applied Linguistics); Zeeshan Siddique (Literature and Criticism); and Tyrone Jones (Communications Media and Instructional Technology) recently published a co-authored article, “Wikipedia’s Gender Gap and Disciplinary Praxis: Representing Women Scholars in Digital Rhetoric and Writing Fields,” with Professor Matt Vetter (Composition and Applied Linguistics) in the Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics.
- Bryna Siegel Finer participated in a dialogue published in the current issue (2018, 1.3-4) of Rhetoric of Health and Medicine along with seven other scholars in the field of Rhetoric of Health and Medicine.
- English doctoral students Jialei Jiang, Sukanto Roy, and Nouf Alshreif (Composition and Applied Linguistics) have recently been selected to receive the prestigious Conference on College Composition and Communication Scholars for the Dream Award.
- Lingyan Yang published “Teaching Asian American and Asian Diasporic Women’s Literature in the Undergraduate B.A. English Curriculum” in the Journal of Pennsylvania English, Vol. 39.2, Winter/Spring 2018 (135-156).
Program News
- English Education Program
- New ESL Education Certificate underdevelopment
- Thanks to Brian Carpenter for writing up these curriculum proposals
- Video Games as Literature course proposal under review
- Thanks to Mike Sell for writing up this curriculum proposal
- New ESL Education Certificate underdevelopment
Approval of Department Meeting Minutes
We will vote to approve Minutes from the English Department meeting held on:
The minutes were circulated by email and will be shown at the meeting using the classroom instructor projection station. A limited set of copies will be printed, but please bring your own copy or review the minutes ahead of time so we can limit paper usage and printing costs. Thanks.
Agenda Items
1. Snow Day Makeup Work
- Because apparently just having a Snow Day is too good to be true
- We had to do the same thing after the strike, and we will do it the same way
- We will send the dean 1 coordinated report
- Faculty should not individually email the dean
- We will all use a simple reporting structure
- Online activities are the easiest way to make up for the class time
- Send an email to Jackie and Gian providing the needed information
- 2019 Work Make Up Plans
2. Dropbox Accounts
- Dan Weinstein and Gian have been working on a new Dropbox storage system for English files
- Dropbox is easy for both PC and Mac users to access
- This will eliminate the need for having a Webmaster upload files; people can simply save the files to a shared English folder
- To get things setup, we need everyone to get a Dropbox accounts
- If you have not yet signed up for a free IUP dropbox account, please request one by logging an Ihelp ticket; please ask Dawnette if you need help making this request
- It is very easy to link an IUP account and a personal account
- Placing your files on dropbox protects them with automatic backup; you still retain all rights to your files
3. Online Teaching
- Dean Asamoah has stated that he will not approve anyone teaching more than 2 online classes per semester
- The dean wants to ensure faculty visibility on campus in light of student enrollment declines
- The dean has also asked for a balance of MWF and TR schedules, particularly for major course offerings
- Gian has put these requests into effect for the Fall 2019 schedule
4. Book Ordering (John Branscum)
- Gian discussed this item with the dean who said he will take the issue to the Council of Deans
- John Branscum has also pursued this further with the Co-op Store
5. Leadership Changes
- Todd Thompson is stepping down as Assistant Chair on May 1
- Thank you, Todd, for all your service
- Gian has asked Chauna Craig to serve as the new Assistant Chair
- Chauna meets all the criteria of the 2016 Assistant Chair Selection Criteria
- Dean Asamoah has approved this selection
- Chauna must be approved as a candidate by the Provost
- Chauna must then be approved by a department vote
- Bryna Siegel Finer is stepping down as Liberal Studies English (LSE) Director on May 1
- Thank you, Bryna, for all your service
- The LSE Committee will nominate a new director
- Nominations must be approved by Gian and Dean Asamoah
- The LSE Committee will then vote on the new director
- Please talk to Bryna and/or Gian if you are interested in the position
- Chauna Craig is stepping down as Bachelor of Arts in English Director on May 1
- Thank you Chauna and Heather Powers for all your service
- The BA Program Committee will nominate a new director
- Nominations must be approved by Gian and Dean Asamoah
- The BA Program Committee will then vote on the new director
- Please talk to Chauna and/or Gian if you are interested in the position
- Ben Rafoth is stepping down as Writing Center Director on May 1
- Thank you, Ben, for all your service
- Dean Asamoah has approved Dana Driscoll to serve as the new Writing Center Director
- Dana Driscoll is stepping down as CAL Director of Mentoring
- Matt Vetter will serve the new CAL Director of Mentoring
- No One else gets to step down from a leadership position!
6. Summit on Student Success and Retention
- The University community is invited to attend The IUP Summit on Student Success and Retention: A Systems Approachon Friday, February 15, 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Hadley Union Building, Ohio Room.
7. Alumni Relations Committee
- Todd will be sending around a google doc with the beginning of a list of jobs held/grad schools attended, etc. by graduates of each of our programs. We’re hoping eventually to feature this info on a web page and in promotional materials. When you get the link, please add to the doc info of any students you know of and have kept in touch with from programs in which you work.
8. IUP Little Library
- The library has set up a little free library for book sharing right across from the ref desk. Unfortunately, no one is donating any books. The library is asking if we have any books that we can donate. Thanks to Judith Villa for letting us know about this important opportunity.
9. English Assessment Work
- Mary Stewart is our Assessment Coordinator
- ENGL 121 Surveys were delivered to all face-to-face and online sections of ENGL 121 in Fall 2018. 546 responses received (65% response rate).
- ENGL 121 Writing Samples were collected from all sections of ENGL 121 in Fall 2018 (n=170; 100% faculty participation rate).
- Raters are identified and a pilot scoring session and full sample scoring session have been scheduled for February and May
- There will be Focus Group meetings to finalize the post-pilot rubric
- Tuesday, April 2 (2-3pm in HSS 306) and Wednesday, April 3 (11:15am-12:15pm in HSS 306)
- There will be ENGL 202 Share Sessions on Synthesis
- Tuesday, March 5 (9:30-10:30am in HSS 306) and Wednesday, March 6 (2:30-3:30pm in HSS 306)
9. English Search Committee Criteria
- Although we have no tenure track searches this year, we remain hopeful that the dean will approve an English education search for next year
- During our last search, we piloted a new Search Committee Procedure which worked well, so we would like to vote to approve that procedure permanently
11. Updating the English Service Policy
- One objective that emerged from the Fall 2018 English Department Retreat was Clarifying Workload Distribution/Equity
- To help with this issue, Gian and Todd began working on updating the English Service Policy
- Mike Sell helped us get the first version of this policy approved
- The proposed revision of the policy was then brought to the English Leadership Council which worked on it further
- Then Todd met with Sharon Deckert and Mike Williamson to work on the proposal some more
- Then the ELC worked on it some more
- But Todd Thompson has been doing all the typing! Thanks Todd!!!
- Now it’s finally ready for everyone else in the department to discuss it
- One key suggestion is combining the Department Tenure Committee (DTC) and the Department Evaluations Committee (DEC) into 1 committee: the Department Evaluations and Tenure Committee (DETC)
- A number of other changes are being proposed to better acknowledge important service work that faculty do
- 2012 English Service Policy
- Proposed English Service Policy Revision
- Proposals for Eliminating Some Committees and Service
English Department Objectives
Clarifying Workload Distribution/Equity
- Gian and Todd have been revising the English Service Policy
- We will bring that policy proposal to the November ELC meeting for discussion
- We will discuss department service at the November department meeting
- This discussion will include considering combining/eliminating some committees
- Please send a list of all of your university/local/national/professional service to Todd for collection
- The ELC will discuss how to make faculty labor more visible and valued
- Goal 1: To have a revised Service Policy approved in Spring 2019
- Goal 2: To identify new methods for valuing faculty work in Spring 2019 that could be implemented starting in Fall 2019
Defining and Setting Department Priorities
- English Education is our top hiring need as determined by faculty at the retreat
- Emily Wender and Chauna Craig have met and will continue to meet to discuss curriculum revisions to help meet enrollment needs of both B.A. and B.S. English students
- We will use our first spring department meeting to identify other departmental priorities including curriculum reform needs and other hiring needs
- Goal 3: To have a list of department priorities identified by the end of Spring 2019
Improving Department Climate
- Gian will hold a lunch with probationary faculty to discuss promotion/tenure expectations
- Create an IUP English Faculty Success Guide
- Identify mentors for probationary faculty
- IUP English Speaker Series–coordinate attendance at these limited events
- Consider having a group of English faculty attend campus events
- Clarify promotion guidelines for the department
- Use an online survey to identify a list of items for which people desire more communication/transparency
- Have the summer school committee review the rotation process for summer/winter classes
- Goal 4: Create documents in Spring 2019 and disseminate these documents for the 2019-2020 academic year
English Department 2018-2019 Goals
- Strengthen Department Collegiality
- Strengthen the public image of IUP’s English Department
English Department Reports
English Program Reports
- Liberal Studies English (Director: Bryna Siegel Finer)
- Assessment (Coordinator: Mary Stewart)
- Bachelor of Arts in English (Interim Director: Chauna Craig)
- Literature and Culture Track (Coordinator: John Marsden)
- Pre-Law Track (Coordinator: Tim Hibsman)
- Writing Studies Track (Coordinator: Tony Farrington)
- Film Focus (Coordinator: Tom Slater)
- Internships (Coordinator: Chauna Craig)
- Bachelor of Arts in English Education (Director: Jo-Anne Kerr)
- Post Baccalaureate in English Education (Director: Linda Norris)
- Master of Arts Composition and Literature/MA Literature (Director: Mike Williamson)
- Master of Arts TESOL – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Director: Gloria Park)
- ESL Program Specialist Certification (Director: Brian Carpenter)
- GCORE – Graduate Certificate Program in TESOL (Director: Gloria Park)
- Graduate Studies in Composition and TESOL (Director: Gloria Park)
- Graduate Studies in Literature and Criticism (Director: Veronica Watson)
English Committee Reports
- Department Elections Committee (Chair: Ken Sherwood)
- DEC – Department Evaluations Committee (Co-Chairs: Bryna Siegel Finer and Mike Williamson)
- DPC – Department Promotions Committee (Co-Chairs: Jean Nienkamp and Dan Weinstein)
- DTC – Department Tenure Committee (Chair John Marsden)
- Summer School Committee (Chair Ben Rafoth)
English Organizations
- IUP NCTE – IUP National Council of Teachers of English (Advisor: Jo-Anne Kerr)
- Sigma Tau Delta (Advisor: Dan Weinstein)
English Publications
- Crimson Quill (Coordinator: Liberal Studies English)
- NGAR– New Growth Arts Review (Advisor: Chauna Craig)
- Studies in the Humanities (Editor-in-Chief: Reena Dube)
- Works & Days (Editor-in-Chief: David Downing)
English Department Initiatives
- Alumni Newsletter – The Word (Editor-in-Chief: Todd Thompson)
- Banned Books Week (Coordinators: Tanya Heflin)
- Graduation (Coordinator: Jo-Anne Kerr)
- Honors Ceremony (Coordinators: Jo-Anne Kerr, Jean Nienkamp, and Heather Powers)
- Writing Contest (Coordinator: Reena Dube)
- Mentoring Program (Coordinators: Dana Driscoll and Mike Sell)
- Placement (Coordinators: Dana Driscoll and Melanie Holm)
- Web Site (Director: Dan Weinstein)
- Writing Plan (Coordinator: Chauna Craig)
CHSS and University Organization Reports
- APSCUF (Department Representatives: Resa Crane Bizzaro, Tanya Heflin, Mary Stewart, and Todd Thompson; Legislative Assembly: John Marsden)
- Center for Film Studies (Director: Tom Slater)
- DHC – Center for Digital Humanities and Culture (Co-Directors: Ken Sherwood, Dan Weinstein, and Gian Pagnucci)
- IUP Senate (Department Representative: Tim Hibsman)
- Writing Across the Curriculum (Director: Bryna Siegel Finer)
- Writing Center (Director: Ben Rafoth)
State Organization Reports
- English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities – EAPSU (Vice President, Conference Representative, and Writing Contest Coordinator: John Branscum)
- Pennsylvania College English Association – PCEA (PCEA President and Web Site Director: Gian Pagnucci; PCEA Board Members: John Marsden and Mike Williamson)
- This category needs more information, so please send Gian the name of any organization for which you are an officer as well as your title.
National Organization Reports
- This category needs more information, so please send Gian the name of any organization for which you are an officer as well as your title.
IUP Events 2018-2019
IUP English Speaker Series 2018-2019
- Speaker Series Coordinator: Todd Thompson
- Poetry reading by G.C. Waldrep
- Event Date: Feb. 13, 2019 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
- Event Location: HSS 123
- Event Coordinators: Tony Farrington and Todd Thompson
The Elephant in the Room: Conversation and Action for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in the Classroom and Beyond–A Year of Learning and Growth
- Event Co-Sponsored by IUP Department of English
- Also sponsored by IUP Women’s and Gender Studies and IUP Center for Teaching Excellence
Announcements
APSCUF Membership
- It is very important for all tenure track and temporary faculty to join the union. The cost is minimal as all faculty already pay roughly 90% of the membership due. But a strong union helps protect both temporary and permanent faculty. If you are not a member, please join as soon as possible.
- In addition, please consider joining APSCUF CAP which does lobbying for the union. This is the best way to influence legislators to support our concerns.
- Please remember to email Dawnette to get all English Department events and key meetings added to the department web calendar
- Please check the calendar before scheduling meetings to help limit conflicts
- TR from 2:00-4:00 p.m. is a common open time for tenure track faculty members to use for meetings
Additional Announcements
- If anyone has an important announcement, we’ll use the last few minutes of the meeting to cover this