English Department Meeting Agenda
Meeting Agenda for Apr. 12, 2018
(Meeting Location: 225 Humanities and Social Sciences Building)
“Go forth! Be brave! Be proud! Be true!”
- IUP English Professor Jane Leonard (1840-1925)
Thanks
- To Bryna Siegel Finer and Marissa McKinley for organizing the Second LSE Gallery of Student Writing Celebration
- We had a nice turnout, including some parents, and got to post some very interesting writing on our office walls
- To Todd Thompson for publishing another issue of our English alumni newsletter The Word
- To Oriana Gatta for Coordinating the Maggie Anderson poetry reading
- To Bryna Siegel Finer, Mary Stewart, Matt Vetter, Dan Weinstein, and Emily Wender for running a Teaching Online Workshop for us
- To Mike Sell and Dan Weinstein for coordinating a series of TWINE workshops for middle and high school students
- TWINE is open source software that allow students to create literary works
Congratulations
- To English faculty with scholarly news in 2018
- To Oriana Gatta who presented at the Popular Culture Association Conference and the Rhetoric Society Conference
- To Heather Powers and Gian Pagnucci who also were presenters at the
2018 Popular Culture Association Conference - To Tim Hibsman, John Marsden, Gian Pagnucci, and Mike Williamsonwho all gave presentations at the 2018 Pennsylvania College English Association (PCEA) Conference
- Tim Hibsman also presented at the 2018 CUE Conference
- Lily Savova who gave 4 presentations at the 2018 TESOL Conference and the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) 2018 Conference
- John Branscum and Yi Yu who were Invited Speakers for Humana Inc.’s Though Leaders in Diversity Speaker Series
- Todd Thompson for being Volume Advisor for a 19th Century Literature Collection
- Dana Driscoll for giving a Keynote Address at the East Central Writing Center Association Conference
- Dana Driscoll also presented at CCCC with C&T doctoral students/Temporary Faculty Nadia Zamin and Daewoo Jin
- Peter Sorrell for presenting at the Rutgers Online Learning Conference
- Matt Vetter for publishing a poetry chapbook
- Tom Slater who is presenting at NEMLA today!
- Please keep sending your news items to Tim Hibsman to keep us in the number one news-makers spot at IUP!
Approval of Minutes
We will vote to approve Minutes from the English Department meeting held on:
- 3/8/18
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
- Chinese Science Fiction Writer Ken Liu Visit!
- We have spent extra money on this fantastic writer’s visit, so please encourage your students to attend
- April 18 @ 11 a.m. Talk on translation work
- April 18 @ 4:30 p.m. creative reading (from his World Fantasy winning story collection The Paper MenagerieDCreative Reading from Liu’s World Fantasy winning story collection The Paper Menagerie, Q&A, and book signing!
- BIG THANKS to John Branscum for helping to coordinate this visit
- Thanks to the Department of Foreign Languages for Co-Sponsoring this visit with the Department of English
- English Honors Ceremony
- April 29th at 1 p.m. in HSS 126
- Please plan to attend and tell your students to attend
- Many of our majors will be recognized, but they often don’t know to attend; please encourage them to to
- There will be food
- Award presenters are still needed
- Thanks to Jo-Anne Kerr, Jean Nienkamp, Heather Powers, and Dawnette Shellhammer for organizing this event
- Gian has to attend his nephew’s first communion in Wisconsin that day, so thanks to Heather for filling in to do the welcome
- Revised Course Objectives for English 101: Composition I (Byrna Siegel-Finer, LSE Director)
- The Liberal Studies English (LSE) Committee has revised the course objectives for ENGL 101
- The new objectives have been by the Dean, Liberal Studies, and the University Wide Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UWUCC) and will now go to the Senate and IUP Board of Trustees for final approval
- Email Upgrade
- IUP is finally moving to a modern email system: Microsoft Office 360
Why Is IUP Upgrading It’s Email System?
- Email storage will increase from 2 GB to 50 GB
- This will eliminate the “you are at 90% of your email quota” warnings that some faculty get on a daily basis
- This will also eliminate the embarrassment of emails bouncing back undelivered from overloaded faculty inboxes
- Every faculty/staff member will also get 1 TB of data storage space on Microsoft One Drive
- The new email system is more secure
- The new email system is easier to use and more like other modern graphical email systems such as Gmail
- The new email system will provide more options for using listservs
What Is the Upgrade Like?
- On a specific morning, you are sent an email that you have been upgraded
- The email includes directions for making the change to the new system
- All your email gets transferred over; every message
- All IUP students have already been upgraded
- The main problems some students had was being unable to follow simple written directions
- A group of faculty early adopters have also been upgraded (including Gian) with few problems
- The written directions are very clear and quite easy to follow
How to Access Email After the Upgrade
- Your email address will stay the same
- You will switch from having a separate email login username and password to just using your IUP network username and password
- This means one less password you have to remember
- If you access your email through the online website, the transition is extremely simple
- You switch from using http://imail.iup.edu to http://mail.iup.edu
- This takes you directly to Microsoft Outlook online
- If you use a Mac, you can keep using Apple mail by deleting your IUP account and re-adding it; this is very easy to do
- Alternatively, Mac Users can start using Microsoft Outlook
- Outlook is a good program that is easy to use
- It is comparable to Apple Mail, and organizes mail better in some ways
- It is very easy to add your IUP account in Outlook
- If you use Thunderbird on a PC, you will need to switch to Microsoft Outlook
- Thunderbird is horrible which makes this switch very worthwhile!
- Most people already have the full Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) installed on their computer
- If you don’t have the suite installed, you can download it and install it for free from Office.com
- Be sure to login using your IUP email address
- If you need help, IT will be glad to help you
It Can’t Really Be That Easy
- The biggest challenge so far has been for people who have email folders stored on their computer’s local hard drive rather than the server
- Those folders can be moved over to the server, but Microsoft limits how many that can be moved at once, so it takes quite awhile
- IT recommends accessing local folders from your old email program (Thunderbird or Apple Mail) while they work on this issue
- The folders won’t go away, you just have to access the old way
- But remember that the whole reason people had to create local folders was because we didn’t have enough email storage space
- The new system eliminates that basic problem
- You may need to re-setup phones and tablets
- Again, the directions are clear and the early adopters have not had problems with this transition
Can I Do It Myself?
- Yes, it’s really not that hard
- The directions are clear and easy to follow
What If I Need Help?
- IT is anxious to help
- This email move is a top priority and they want all faculty to have their email working properly as soon as possible after the upgrade
I Think I’m Sold, So How Do I Sign up?
- The entire department has to move over at the same time so IT can prioritize helping us all at once
- We have 3 options:
- Move before the end of the semester
- Move during the summer (we would need to pick a date)
- Be required to move in the fall (we would be given a date for the upgrade most likely in late September or October)
- We will vote on when we want to do the upgrade
- If we do the upgrade during the summer and you are away, you might need to call IT for help
- IT will be happy to help you over the phone
- Online Course Observations (Mary Stewart)
- The LSE Online Teaching and Learning Subcommittee has revised its proposal for how we do observations of online courses
- We will vote on this proposal at our meeting
- Online English Course Development Policy (from English Leadership Council [ELC])
- This policy is designed to encourage the development of online English courses. Individual programs will select which courses are to be submitted for online teaching. Faculty members may only teach courses for which they have the appropriate expertise.
- If a tenured/tenure track faculty member succeeds in getting an English course approved by the IUP Senate for online teaching, that faculty member may teach the course the first 2 times that the course is offered. All semesters (fall, winter, spring, and summer) will count equally for this purpose. If the faculty member is offered the course, but declines to teach it, this will count as 1 of their initial opportunities to teach the course. If the course is canceled, this will not count toward the faculty member’s 2 initial opportunities to teach the course.
- After these initial 2 offerings, the course reverts to the normal process in which courses are assigned by the Chair and Program Directors.
- If 2 people collaboratively develop a course for online delivery, they would be given the first 4 opportunities to teach the course, evenly divided between the 2 of them.
- Library Weeding Project Update
- The Library Weeding Project is still going forward
- The Adhoc Committee on the Library Weeding Project (Scott Moore, Francisco Alardon, Ben Ford, Chris Clouser, Dean Gonzalez, Provost Moerland) still making good progress
- Many books will undergo a format change
- The Provost has agreed to pay for IUP to join the HATHI trust which costs roughly $12,000/year
- About 60% of the books slated for weeding are in the trust and this will give faculty access to roughly 16 million volumes total
- This will eave about 30,000-40,000 books for review
- The idea to create a list of seminal books in the field has been dropped
- In Fall 2018, faculty will be given a list of the books that remain for weeding so they can give input
- Only some books will be saved from that list; most will be weeded
- English Book Project
- We have already purchased a bunch of the books by our faculty
- We want all the books by our faculty
- Please find your books on Amazon/publisher site and send the link to Dawnette Shellhammer so we can order copies
- We will aim to buy 2 copies of each book and have them available for students/faculty to read (we’ll try an honor system circulation plan initially)
- We will start by ordering books for which faculty are an author/co-author or editor/co-editor
- We’ll see how many books that is, then think about getting books in which people have chapters
- This should be a great display to show prospective students and their parents
- Classroom Privacy Statement(Byrna Siegel-Finer, LSE Director)
- The LSE Committee has developed a new Classroom Privacy Statement
- The statement adheres to Pennsylvania law
- The LSE committee encourages you to include the statement on your syllabi to help protect you and your students
- Classroom Privacy Policy: Our class is an exclusive community, which means we all have an expectation of privacy. This is not only because of the community we create as a group, but because Pennsylvania law guarantees our privacy. According to the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, it is illegal to record — audio or video — any communication without explicit consent of everyone in the class. More specifically, this means that no audio, video, or still images (pictures) can be made or shared digitally (via Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, or any other print or social media) from this class without instructor permission. You may not repost any videos or images from our class in print or online forums. Exception: Students who present formal documentation from IUP’s Department of Disability Access and Advising may record our class sessions exclusively for their own educational purposes. These students must abide by Pennsylvania law; therefore, they cannot share recordings outside of class in any way.
Reminders
English 202 Assessment Sample Collection
- Please remember to submit samples for our 202 assessment data collection
- Thanks to Katie Miller for coordinating this assessment work
- Send your samples to LSE-ASSESSMENT@iup.edu
The Crimson Quill
- Please encourage students to submit their writing to The Crimson Quill
- The deadline for submissions is May 18
- Thanks to Marissa McKinely for coordinating this publishing project
- To submit an article for publication, students should use the following form:
- https://goo.gl/forms/h8IVHUqm7rsL6mnq1
English Department Reports
English Program Reports
- Liberal Studies English (Director: Bryna Siegel Finer)
- Assessment (Coordinator: Katie Miller)
- Crimson Quill (Coordinator: Marissa McKinley)
- Bachelor of Arts in English (Director: Heather Powers)
- 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: Oriana Gatta)
- Student Recruitment (Chair: Mike Sell)
- 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: Curt Porter)
- 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: Resa Crane Bizzaro)
- DEC – Department Evaluations Committee (Co-Chairs: Gloria Park, Bryna Siegel Finer, and Mike Williamson)
- DPC – Department Promotions Committee (Co-Chairs: John Branscum and Jean Nienkamp)
- DTC – Department Tenure Committee (Co-Chairs Jo-Anne Kerr and Judith Villa)
- Summer School Committee (Chair Ben Rafoth)
English Organization Reports
- IUP NCTE – IUP National Council of Teachers of English (Advisor: Jo-Anne Kerr)
- NGAR – New Growth Arts Review (Advisor: Chauna Craig)
- Sigma Tau Delta (Advisor: Mike Williamson)
- 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 and Emily Wender)
- Graduation (Coordinator: Jo-Anne Kerr)
- Honors Ceremony (Coordinators: Jo-Anne Kerr, Jean Nienkamp, and Heather Powers)
- Writing Contest (Coordinator: Reena Dube)
- Placement (Coordinators: Dana Driscoll and Melanie Holm)
- Web Site (Director: Dan Weinstein)
- Writing Plan (Coordinator: Oriana Gatta)
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)
- NGAR – New Growth Arts Review (Advisor: Chauna Craig)
- Sigma Tau Delta (Advisor: Mike Williamson)
- Studies in the Humanities (Editor-in-Chief: Reena Dube)
- Works & Days (Editor-in-Chief: David Downing)
- 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 (Web Site Director: Gian Pagnucci; Board Members: John Marsden and Oriana Gatta)
- 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.
Upcoming Events
Chinese Science Fiction Writer Ken Liu Visit!
- April 18 @ 11 a.m. Talk on translation work
- April 18 @ 4:30 p.m. creative reading (from his World Fantasy winning story collection The Paper MenagerieDCreative Reading from Liu’s World Fantasy winning story collection The Paper Menagerie, Q&A, and book signing!
- Coordinated by John Branscum and the Department of Foreign Languages
English Honors Ceremony
- April 29th at 1 p.m. in HSS 126
- Coordinated by Jo-Anne Kerr, Jean Nienkamp, Heather Powers, and Dawnette Shellhammer
Fall 2018 English Department Retreat
- Sep. 12 Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. @ the KCAC
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