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As the 2007-2008 academic year comes to
an end, we are in the middle of some dramatic changes in
the Department of English and at Radford University,
centering on the revision of general education into what
is being called a core curriculum. The faculty in
English has been working hard in various capacities to
keep writing and literature in the education of every
Radford student.
To aid the development of
writing competency across campus, Dr. Laurie Cubbison
will be assuming a new title and position as Director of
the Writing Program at Radford University this summer.
She will be working on a renewed consistency in the
delivery of freshman composition, as well as the
resurrection of Writing across the Curriculum that will
allow professors in other disciplines to incorporate
writing instruction into their classes. We are also
hoping that a sophomore writing intensive seminar will
be established to complement the core curriculum, so
that students will be able to develop their writing
skills throughout the four years of their education.
This year we welcomed one new
professor, Dr. Don Cunningham, whose area of expertise
is Business and Technical Writing. He also has an
interest in Japanese culture, and has regaled many
groups on and off campus with his knowledge of Japanese
weaponry. We are saddened, however, to say goodbye to
Dr. Suzanne Kauer, English Education instructor, who
will be assuming a position next fall at Dixie State
College in Utah (southern Utah, she tells us) and to
have only one more semester for students to enjoy the
classes of Dr. Parks Lanier, who will retire this coming
December.
We also will welcome a new
Dean of our College of Humanities and Behavioral
Sciences (which itself is new, a result of a split of
the College of Arts and Sciences at the end of last
academic year). Dr. Brian Conniff will be leaving his
position as chairperson of the English Department at the
University of Dayton to assume the Deanship here this
summer.
Both our undergraduate and
graduate programs continue to thrive. A recent addition
is a master’s track in English Education, allowing both
current in-service teachers to receive their master’s
degree and master’s students to receive their public
school teaching credentials. Also available is a
certificate in Appalachian Studies on the graduate
level.
I would like to encourage all
recent graduates and other alumni to send me an e-mail
at
rguruswa@radford.edu, and let me know what you are
doing and how you are doing. A collection of successful
alumni experiences will hearten the English faculty and
impress the powers-that-be, to convince them that what
we offer in our major is truly a “value-added”
experience.
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