PhD Alumna Ashley Carlson accepts Tenure Track position

Please join us in congratulating Ashley Carlson on her Tenure Track position teaching later British literature (18-21st centuries) at the University of Montana Western!

R&W graduates accept Tenure Track positions

Please join us in congratulating two R&W graduates on their Tenure Track positions:

Dan Cryer, Roosevelt University, Chicago.

Mellisa Huffman, San Angelo State University, Texas.

Erin Murrah Mandril Accepts Tenure-Track Position

American Literary Studies graduate Erin Murrah-Mandril has accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of English at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she will also be a Faculty Associate for the Center for Mexican American Studies. She will be teaching American and Mexican American literatures. Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, UT-Arlington is the second largest university in the UT system and is classified as a Hispanic Serving Institution and as a “high research activity” institution by the Carnegie Foundation. Dr. Murrah-Mandril would like to thank Dr. Jesse Alemán for his professional guidance over the years, particularly his advice concerning her three peer-reviewed articles and her dissertation, “Out of Time: Temporal Colonization and the Writing of Mexican American Subjectivity.” She would also like to thank Dr. Jonathan Davis-Secord, who led the UNM English Job Seeker’s Workshop in Fall 2014, and the many other faculty members who participated in these workshops. Erin looks forward to working within close proximity to many excellent Texas archives, though she will miss her home state of New Mexico tremendously. Please feel free to send green chili to her new UTA address!

Marisa Sikes to teach Middle English at Austin Peay

In April, Marisa Sikes, PhD in Medieval Studies, accepted a tenure-track position at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, one of the Tennessee state universities. She will be joining their faculty as the Middle English specialist with secondary responsibilities in History of the English Language and World Literature. We wish you all the best, Marisa, and a wonderful career.
~Dr. Obermeier

Jill Walker-Gonzalez Lands Job

Jill Walker-Gonzalez, an American Literary Studies doctoral candidate, has accepted a faculty

position at her alma mater, La Sierra University in Riverside, CA. A Seventh Day Adventist university, La Sierra’s English Department hired Jill to teach early American, Nineteenth-Century American, and Native American literatures starting Fall 2014. The position is a non-tenure track Assistant Professor line that will be converted to tenure-track status when Jill completes her dissertation, “Imagining Poland in Nineteenth-Century American Literature.” Under Dr. Jesse Alemán’s direction, Jill’s dissertation argues that minor references to Poland across nineteenth-century American literary history betray major gothic anxieties in the US about culture, imperialism, slavery and the Other. Congratulations to Jill on landing her dream job!

Rivera Lands Tenure-Track Job

ALS PhD candidate in English, Díana Noreen Rivera, has accepted a tenure track job as an assistant professor of English at the University of Texas, Brownsville, for an advertised position in American literature to begin Fall 2014. The inaugural CRS Torres Fellow and a current Mellon Fellow, Noreen is also a native of the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas—she received her BA and MA from UT-Pan American, so her return to UT-Brownsville is the perfect position for her to take after she defends her dissertation in July. Congratulations!

Erin Penner Gallegos Extending Peace Corps Service

Erin Penner Gallegos defended her MA R&W Portfolio in May 2011 and took an appointment with the Peace Corps. She is now back in the US before going back overseas and taking her next promotion appointment in Thailand.

Erin will be here for the Writing the World Symposium on Friday. Another Professional Writing MA success story for our placement records. Erin launched the first WAC Earth Day Symposium which evolved into the Wriitng the World Symposium.  She didn't just theorize about "writing the world"--she's living it.

They will extend Peace Corps service by one year (to start in May, after coming home for a month-long visit). Then back to Thailand, but a new city, and working with the College of Local Administration (COLA) at Khon Kaen University, in Khon Kaen City. Most of the time will be working with the "Youth Anti-Corruption Network" which is a project started at Khon Kaen University through COLA about two years ago with funds from the UN Development Programme. The students who go to COLA will for the most part become government administrators at the local (town / county) level.

Greg Evans Haley the new Strategic Communications Director for ACT Foundation

Greg Evans Haley has landed his dream job in Austin TX as the Strategic Communications Director for the ACT Foundation (a Bill and Melinda Gates Foudation). This is a brilliant placement and exciting news for our Professional Writing Program.

Greg's search committee was very impressed with Greg's work in rhetoric (hermeneutics of John Dewey especially) and Greg's grassroots experience working with Writing Across Communities here at UNM. In Greg's words,

I have accepted a position as Director, Strategic Communications for the ACT Foundation. The foundation was established as a public trust non-profit organization in October, 2013 with the mandate to establish a national learning economy to benefit working learners. The goal is to develop a nationally recognized certification program that allows working learners to gain mobility across industries and across companies based on their skills and training learned on the job. The foundation is working to build a network of industry associations, education, and worker training programs to collaborate in this effort. This economic plan is currently in design and development phase with organizations from all across the country, and across the political spectrum, joining in the effort. The ACT Foundation's role is to develop the strategy, provide funding for innovative solutions, and provide leadership for this nationwide effort. 

As Director, Strategic Communications, Greg's role is to develop the national communications strategy, introduction, and ongoing development of the national learning economy. This involves working with key stakeholders from government, industry, and educational organizations to develop the key messaging, communications strategy, and overall outreach effort to help make this new economy a reality. This is a senior management position at the foundation that is also responsible for managing stakeholder relations, developing the overall framing and direction of the learning economy, and providing internal leadership for the foundation's employees.

Lindsey Ives to be Professor at Embry-Riddle

Lindsey Ives has accepted an offer for an Assistant Professor position in Composition and Second Language Writing at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona, FL.

 

Congratulations, Lindsey!

Leigh Johnson returns to talk about the Academic Job Search this Friday, Dec. 6 at noon.

Please join us this Friday, December sixth, in the Frank Waters Room at Zimmerman library for Dr. Leigh Johnson's talk and roundtable discussion on navigating job searches in the Humanities. 

 Dr. Johnson received her PhD from UNM's English Department in May of 2011 and attained a tenure-track position at Marymount University in Virginia. Dr. Johnson is now sitting on a search committee that has received hundreds of applicants. She will bring her expertise and insight from both sides of the search process.

This talk will be  a part of Dr. Worden's English 500 Symposium. The symposium will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dr. Johnson's talk and roundtable will go from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m, and EGSA will provide a light lunch. Please come support your colleagues as they present their original work and absorb the wisdom of a successful UNM alum!

What Can You Do With a Degree in English?

Scott Sanders is a former Chair of the English department, who gave this speech at Graduation Convocation, 2013, a speech pertinent to all English majors:

Thank you, Professor Houston. 

What a great pleasure it is to be back at this podium, here at Woodward Hall, and looking at you, the graduates of our department for this Academic Year, 2012-13. 

I’m sure you know the commonplace (and completely mistaken) assumption that anyone who majors in English can only become a teacher. Certainly teaching at any level is a high calling, an absolutely vital profession, and teaching English is centrally important in every curriculum at every level in every school in our country. 

But teaching most certainly is not the only profession your English degree has prepared you to enter.

More than 40 years ago the major professional organization for post-secondary English faculty, the Modern Language Association, began a focused study of what undergraduate English majors did with their degrees after graduation. 

Fewer than 25% ever taught at any level for any length of time over the several years of that study, which extended for more than two decades. That means 75% never taught, and neither were they unemployed.

The study confirmed that English majors have many skills, and that many different professions value those skills.

In my own experience over the past 30 years, I’ve talked with hundreds of managers, owners, and supervisors at dozens of businesses and organizations and corporations large and small in New Mexico, our neighboring states, and beyond.

For the most part, these are the people who mentored our interns in their workplaces, and, in many cases, also hired our graduates. You can see a snapshot, a slice, of the range of employment available to English majors by looking at the list of internship placements available today on our departmental web site.

One person I corresponded with at length was a senior manager for a large national corporation headquartered in Ohio. He told me his company actively sought English majors as the “most skilled” of the liberal arts graduates his company was seeking to recruit and hire more and more in recent years. It seems they were becoming disenchanted with business majors.

He wrote a one page document with a catchy title and sent it to me:

Why XYZ Company Hires and Promotes People with English Degrees

He listed six categories of skills, which were somewhat repetitive (the document needed editing at the sentence, paragraph, and headings levels, making his point about their need for English majors). His six categories really came down to three familiar core skills: communication skills (writing and speaking); research skills (the ability to find information); and critical thinking skills (the ability to assess the value of information for different users). Let’s consider these three skills a bit further.

Communication Skills

My correspondent wrote, “[English majors] are rarely intimidated by deadlines and the prospect of creating multiple documents.”

New hires in their the first 3-6 months at XYZ were routinely asked to write two to three 150 to 250 word abstracts of information they could find about new clients, and these one-to-three-paragraphs-long documents were due on rolling deadlines about every 1-2 weeks. All but the English majors found this amount of writing and the associated deadlines daunting. The English majors thought, “Hey, this is less work than I used to do years ago in English 101. No sweat.” Echoing Oliver Twist, I imagine that they all but said, “Please sir, may I write some more?”

Research Skills

My correspondent wrote, “[English majors] are organized and experienced in the methodology of retrievable storage activities that result in research and information compilation.”

Translation:  English majors know how to search more sites than just Google; they keep accurate records of the URLs they consult; and they know how to cut and paste. 

Supervisors reading the abstracts produced by English majors not only found the information they wanted, but they could follow the path taken by the writer, and then branch off of that path confidently on their own to find still more information of use. Good stuff, my contact told me.

Critical Thinking Skills

Again, my correspondent wrote, “[English majors] execute a disciplined approach to situation analysis while implementing a critical thinking approach to problem resolution.”  I suspect one has to have a business degree to write a sentence like that.

Translation: English majors actually thought about what information would be more important, more useful, for their supervisors, and they placed that information in more prominent positions in their abstracts. Finally, they offered explicit conclusions about the significance of that information, about how it might affect their employers’ future actions with their new clients. 

More good stuff, and very, very rare among new hires, my contact told me.

I’m here today to tell you that you made the right choice about your major a few years back, that you are on the right track, and that your study of English has prepared you for a wide range of meaningful professional careers.

You have the skills you need to succeed.

You have the will you need to succeed.

And, more important than any skill, you have been building something my corporate correspondent never directly addressed, although I see it everywhere in everything he praised about English majors.

You have a measure of character, of maturity, and of wisdom that, no matter how many years you may actually have now, is certainly beyond any norm associated with that number of years.

This is so because you have read widely and you have read well the stories that really matter, the stories that the writers of great literature have given to us, stories about lives and worlds real and imaginary that you have lived and inhabited and shared in the fullest sense in your own generative imaginations that you engaged in the act of reading.

Although it is not so easily recognized, and it is far too often taken for granted, reading is the one true foundation for all of those other skills.

From the time you were first read to, and then eventually began reading on your own, you started on a path that has led you to where we are today, in Woodward Hall, at your graduation.

You are more than ready, and, finally, it is time.

Go out there beyond the classrooms where you have done so well and make something great and good happen for yourself and all of us in the new worlds that, through your actions, you will create.

Congratulations to you all.

Linwood Orange, English: The Pre-Professional Major, 1972; 4^th edition 1986.

Genesea Carter to teach Rhetoric and Composition at University of Wisconsin

Genesea Carter will be taking a tenure track job at the University of Wisconsin-Stout where she will be teaching rhetoric and composition courses.

Dr. Stacey Kikendall to be Asst. Professor at Park University

Congratulations to Dr. Stacey Kikendall. After having four campus visits and two job offers, she has decided to take a position as Assistant Professor at the Park University English Department, teaching composition, introduction to literature, world literature, British lit surveys and nineteenth-century British literature. Park University is an independent private university located in Kansas City, Missouri. Its main campus, where Stacey will be teaching, has about 4,000 undergraduate students. We know Dr. Kikendall will be a wonderful faculty member.     -- Gail Houston, Chair

Randall Gann Lecturer in Literature and Film Studies at NAU

Randall Gann, PhD in American Literature, 2011, has accepted a lectureship in Literature and Film Studies starting this fall at Northern Arizona University. Congratulations, Randall!

Another Suzanne Richardson Success!

Suzanne Richardson has just accepted a position at Utica College as Assistant Professor of Creative Nonfiction starting this fall 2012.

UNM English Hiring for Tenure Track Position: Assistant or Associate Professor in Old English

University of New Mexico
Department of English Language and Literature
MSC03 2170, Albuquerque, NM 87131 ÿhttp://www.unm.edu/~english

Assistant or Associate Professor in Old English Language & Literature
The Department of English at the University of New Mexico invites applications for a probationary appointment leading to a tenure decision at the advanced Assistant or Associate Professor level, to begin August 2012.

Summary: The Medieval Studies Program in the Department of English at UNM is committed to scholarship and teaching that are historically anchored and theoretically engaged. Successful candidates must have demonstrated scholarly and pedagogical excellence and have engaged in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural research and teaching. Successful candidates will be expected to pursue active mentoring of students and to maintain a strong involvement with UNM’s Institute for Medieval Studies and its outreach programs in public education.

Minimum qualifications: 1) an earned PhD with specialization in Old English Language and Literature; 2) expertise in Old English Language and Literature (prose and poetry); 3) record of scholarly excellence; and 4) 5 years of college teaching experience.

Preferred qualifications for the ideal candidate include significant record of publications, teaching excellence on the undergraduate and graduate level, demonstrated capacity to work cooperatively with faculty and students in interdisciplinary programs and community outreach, as well as secondary expertise and interest in one or more of the following comparative areas at the undergraduate and graduate level: Old Norse Language, Literature, and Folklore; History of the English Language; Feminist Approaches to Medieval Studies; Medieval Culture; and Anglo-Saxonism, the appropriation of Anglo-Saxon literature and ideas by later literary historical periods.

All application materials must be received by Nov. 21, 2011, for best consideration. The position will remain open until filled. For complete details or to apply, please visit: https://unmjobs.unm.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=64967 and reference posting number 0813180.

Questions on this posting may be directed to Dr. Anita Obermeier, Search Committee Chair, at AObermei@unm.edu.

The University of New Mexico is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and Educator. Women and underrepresented minorities are encouraged to apply.

Employment Opportunity: Russo Endowed Professor

The Department of English at the University New Mexico invites applications for a Russo Endowed Professor for Creative Writing in Creative Nonfiction for the academic year 2011-2012, with the possibility of renewal for up to three years.  We seek an outstanding writer with significant publications and demonstrated excellence as a teacher to work with students at the graduate and undergraduate level in the UNM creative writing program.  A secondary expertise in poetry is also welcome, but not required. The successful candidate will teach both undergraduate and graduate creative nonfiction courses and will also be expected to provide exceptional mentorship as a dissertation committee member and thesis advisor.  Teaching load is two courses per semester.   The position is eligible for benefits and begins with the Fall 2011 semester. Salary range 45-50K, depending on credentials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: MFA in Creative Writing and at least one published book from a reputable press and a demonstrated record of successful college-level teaching.  A full position announcement and instructions on how to submit an application can be found online at: https://unmjobs.unm.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=61694.   With the online application attach a letter of interest, c.v., and writing sample (30 pages maximum).  Please have three letters of recommendation sent to: 

Greg Martin, Chair, Search Committee
MSC03 2170
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131 

For best consideration, applications should be received by April 14, 2011.  The position will remain open until filled.  Review of complete applications will begin on April 15, 2011.  The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to diversity through their teaching, research, and service.  All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply, including women, minorities and those from other underrepresented groups.  The University of New Mexico is an EEO/AA Employer.

Job Opening: Lecturer in Composition and Technical/Professional Writing

We offer one, possibly two non-tenure track, renewable Lecturer appointments. Required: MA or other relevant graduate degree in English or a related discipline; academic specialization or significant professional experience in technical or professional writing; two years or more of post-secondary teaching experience in composition and technical and professional writing. Preferred: experience developing and teaching online courses in writing; experience with writing internship programs and other outreach to the professional community.  The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to diversity through their teaching, research, and service. Teaching load 4/3. Teaching includes core curriculum courses in composition and technical/professional writing and upper division topics courses in professional writing and rhetoric as determined by the program’s needs and the candidate’s interest and experience. See our website for more information about our Core Writing, Professional Writing, and Internship Programs:  www.unm.edu/~english/. 

For best consideration, please apply no later than January 7, 2011 at https://unmjobs.unm.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=60576. This position is contingent upon final budgetary approval. UNM is an AA/EEO employer.

Job Opening: Tenure Line Assistant Professor

The English Department of the University of New Mexico seeks a tenure-line assistant professor who specializes in American, Chicano/a, and southwestern literary and cultural studies from the Progressive Era (1910s) to the present. Desirable secondary qualifications include expertise in interdisciplinary methodologies and critical regionalisms, though we prefer projects that are decidedly literary.

The teaching responsibilities associated with this position will include—but not be strictly limited to—our Chicano/a literature sequence (sophomore- to M.A.-level courses), as well as our lower-division American Literature surveys (both early and late) and upper-division historical survey of literary criticism and theory. Courses typically taught by members of UNM’s literature faculty range from sophomore level introductions to Ph.D. seminars. The teaching load is 2/2. The appointment will be in a probationary position leading to a tenure decision.

The search committee will begin to review applications on December 7, 2010 and continue the screening process until the position is filled. Preliminary interviews will take place by telephone. Please upload a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and scholarly writing sample (of not more than 25 pages) at https://unmjobs.unm.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=60322.  Please submit 3 letters of recommendation directly to Dr. Gary Scharnhorst, Search Committee Chair, at gscharn@unm.edu or to University of New Mexico, English Department, MSC03 2170, Albuquerque, NM 87131.

The appointment date is August 2011, and the successful candidate must have a Ph.D. in hand by that date.  Minimum qualifications for this position are a Ph.D. in Chicana/o Literature or related discipline.  Preferred qualifications include:  2 years of college or university teaching experience, scholarly publications or professional presentations, and knowledge of and ability to teach general courses in American Literature, Southwestern American Literature, interdisciplinary studies, and/or literary criticism and theory.

This position is contingent upon final budgetary approval.

UNM is a Carnegie Very High Research institution, a federally-designated Hispanic-serving institution, and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to diversity through their teaching, research, and service.