WELCOMING OUR NEW DEPARTMENT HEAD, JEANNIE BANKS THOMAS

Effective July 1, 2009, Professor Jeannie Banks Thomas will become head of the Department of English at Utah State University. She was named to the position after an internal search conducted during 2008-09. A specialist in folklore, Professor Thomas received her PhD from the University of Oregon, has taught previously at Indiana State University, and has been at Utah State since 1999. Besides directing the folklore program in the Department of English, she has also been Interim Department Head of Interior Design, and Associate Dean for the Arts in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. She replaces Professor Jeffrey Smitten, who has served as department head since 1990. He will return to full-time teaching and research. "Professor Thomas will be an outstanding department head," said Smitten, "because she brings excellent qualifications to the job. Plus, there is no better department to work with anywhere." Thomas may be reached at 797-2733 or by email at english@usu.edu.

 

A NEUROBIOLOGIST’S CANVAS, EDITORS’ PRIZES AND REMEBERING WALLACE STEGNER – ISOTOPE RELEASES ITS SPRING/SUMMER 2009 ISSUE.

Inside Isotope issue 7.1, featured artist and neurobiologist, J. David Sweatt, showcases paintings inspired by his ongoing research regarding memory formation and memory disorders. His paintings of neurons and nervous-system processes offer an intuitive perception of what he states are "real things that no one has ever seen" and represent the abstract and realistic nature of these subjects. His work has also been featured in the PBS television series "NOVA". More

 

 

Former USU English department graduate students Jackie Harris, Sarah Sission, Curtis Newbold, Sita Bell, and Jacoba Mendelkow as well as PhD candidate Laura Vernon and lecturer John Engler were selected to participate in the annual Reading and scoring of the College Board's AP Examinations this June in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year the AP Program, sponsored by the College Board, gives more than one million capable high school students an opportunity to take rigorous college-level courses and examinations and, based on the exam performance, to receive credit and/or advanced placement when they enter college.Over 10,000 AP readers from universities and high schools evaluated more than 2.7 million examinations from 37 AP Courses. Representing many of the finest academic instructors in the world, these men and women are some of the best high school and college educators in the United States, Canada, and abroad.The AP Reading is a unique forum in which academic dialogue between secondary school and college educators is fostered and strongly encouraged. “The Reading draws upon the talents of some of the finest teachers and professors that the world has to offer,” said Trevor Packer, Vice President of the Advanced Placement Program at the College Board. “It fosters professionalism, allows for the exchange of ideas, and strengthens the commitment to students and to teaching. We are very grateful for the contributions of talented educators like those who participated from Utah State University.”

 

“POETRY AT THREE” GROUP TO READ AT ENTRADA INSTITUTE

The long-standing poetry group, Poetry at Three, will present a reading of their work on July 11 at the Entrada Institute in Torrey, Utah. . For more information, contact Susan Nyikos at susan.nyikos@usu.edu

 

SUMMER HELICON WEST

Helicon West, will meet at 6:00 PM Thursday, July 9, at the True Aggie Café, 117 North Main, Logan. All creative writers - and musicians! - are invited to share up to 7 minutes of their work with an appreciative audience. Let the summer muses alight!

 

WRITING CENTER ANNOUNCES SUMMER HOURS

The Writing Center is now open Tuesday through Thursday from 9:30 to 2:30, until July 30. Please remind your students to drop in (RWST 104) or sign up online (writing.usu.edu) for appointments.

 

SEEKING PANELISTS FOR “CONNECTIONS” COURSE

The Connections program is seeking faculty to speak to first-year students as they enter Utah State University as part of the Connections course. (USU 1010) This course is designed to ease students' transition to the university and address their many concerns. Often students are concerned about their ability to be academically successful in their courses. Students understand that their path to graduation depends upon their completion of the required courses. The faculty panels serve the faculty and the students. Participating on a panel provides a department an opportunity to tell students how to be successful in courses and the resources that are available to them. Students attending the panel see that faculty and instructors can be a support and resource for their academic success. Also students gain a sense of the many career opportunities available on a university campus. A professor or instructor on a panel can be the first step toward a student pursuing more information regarding a major. For more information, click here, or contact Noelle Call at noelle.call@usu.edu

 

NCCU SEEKING APPLICANTS FOR ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT

 

 

UTAH SYMPOSIUM IN SCIENCE AND LITERATURE ANNOUNCED

Memoirs Ink would like to announce their creative non-fiction/memoir contests for the upcoming year. There are several contests with prizes that vary from $250-$1000, plus publication. For more information, click here www.memoirsink.com/contests

 

NATIONAL HUMANITIES CENTER OFFERS FELLOWSHIPS

 

CALL FOR PAPERS: HAWAII INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARTS & HUMANITIES

The 8th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities will be held from January 13 (Wednesday) to January 16 (Saturday), 2010, at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa and the Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conference will provide many opportunities for academicians and professionals from arts and humanities related fields to interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. Cross-disciplinary submissions with other fields are welcome. The submission deadline is August 21, 2009. For more information, email humanities@hichumanities.org More

 

 

 

NEWS FROM MLA

The Spring 2009 MLA Newsletter is now available online in PDF. To read the Spring issue, log in with your user name and password if you are a member. Click here if you need to retrieve your user name and password. Calls for papers for the 2009 MLA Annual Convention, to be held in Philadelphia, are now available as a PDF and in a searchable format on the MLA Website. You do not have to be logged in as a member to search the calls. More

 

PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS

The Encyclopedia of Earth recently completed a successful pilot of an exciting, new student writing project that provides students with the opportunity to prepare article for online publication if they meet the Encyclopedia's standards. The project not only is a means for students to gain experience in professional writing, but also is a great reference for future career opportunities. For further information, check out this link.

 

 

 

SCRIBENDI ONLINE

The publication of winning selections from the 2008 Scribendi Creative Writing Contest can be read Scribendi by clicking here. More