- Newsworthy: PhD Students Scott Nesbitt and Rhonda Powers Participate in Biggio Center Preparing Future Faculty Initiative
- Professional Development Seminar - Today - Wednesday - February 23 - 12 pm - 202 Foy
- Auburn University Libraries Bookclub - Necessary Acts by Peter Huggins - Today - February 23 - 11:45 am and 5 pm
- Benson Lecture and English Symposium Series - Jahan Ramazani - Thursday - February 24 - 3 pm at Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art
- Robert Hughes Mount, Jr. Poetry Prize Deadline March 1
- Gender Questions: A Film and Discussion Series - Tuesday - March 1 - 7:30 pm in 2306 Haley Center
- Not Just Desserts - Lecture by Susan Lanser - Thursday - March 3 – 12:30 pm in 217 Foy
- MTPC Oral Exam - Prashant Natarajan - Thursday - March 3 - 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center
- EGO Intra-Departmental English Research Colloquium - Call for Abstracts - Deadline March 9
- MTPC Oral Exam - Rachel Kennedy - Thursday - March 10 - 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center
- Breeden Teaching Grants - Application Deadline March 11
- IMG Academy Application Deadline - March 15
- Faculty Publication - George Crandell
- Registration for Annual STC April in Auburn Meeting
Newsworthy: PhD Students Scott Nesbitt and Rhonda Powers Participate in Biggio Center Preparing Future Faculty Initiative
The Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning began the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) initiative in Fall 2004. The goal of this initiative is to help future faculty members develop the skills needed to succeed in their endeavors. PFF Fellows participate in semester-long graduate credit-bearing seminar courses to develop their understanding of academic culture, behavioral expectations, and career possibilities so that they are prepared to join the academic workforce. These graduate students take part in the Multi-Campus Experience, an immersion program that allows them to visit other academic institutions in the Auburn area and to develop mentoring relationships with faculty at these partner institutions. The Biggio Center Professional Development Seminar Series also provides opportunities for PFF Fellows to learn from Auburn and partner institution faculty and staff lecturers.
Scott Nesbitt and Rhonda Powers, Department PhD students, are two of the thirteen PFF Fellows for 2004-2005. Nesbitt and Powers spend time meeting with other PFF Fellows to discuss various teaching issues, which give them a wider understanding of a teaching career at different colleges and universities.
Nesbitt says, "The essential, nutshell message of the program is that one never knows exactly what kind of school where one may end up teaching, and it's good to get an understanding of the different expectations at different types of schools. This is also valuable considering many, if not most, of us will begin our teaching careers at schools smaller and/or less prestigious than the one from where we got 
our degree."
Powers also feels the program is valuable, saying "Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the program, to me, is that it is interdisciplinary. It has been exciting to discuss teaching and scholarship with psychology, education and human development students. I have enjoyed the program immensely and highly recommend it to other graduate students."
Professional Development Seminar - Wednesday - February 23 - 12 pm - 202 Foy
The Biggio Center Professional Development Seminar Series is open to any and all faculty and graduate students with a desire to enhance his or her teaching, research and service skills in an academic setting. On Wednesday, February 23, Dr. James E. Groccia, Director of the Biggio Center, will discuss "Scholarship Redefined." The seminar will begin with brown-bag lunch at 12 pm, and Dr. Groccia will speak from 12:15 to 1 pm with time for questions and informal conversation lasting until 1:30 pm.
Auburn University Libraries Bookclub - Necessary Acts by Peter Huggins - Today - February 23 - 11:45 am and 5 pm
The Auburn University Libraries Bookclub cordially invites the English Department faculty, staff, and students to the Necessary Acts Bookclub Meeting being held February 23rd in Ralph Brown Draughon Library. The meeting will be held at 11:45 am in the 2nd Floor Conference Room and 5:00 p.m. in the Library Auditorium. The author, Peter Huggins, will be on hand at the meeting to discuss his new book, Necessary Acts. Please visit the bookclub's website for more information.
Benson Lecture and English Symposium Series - Jahan Ramazani - Thursday - February 24 - 3 pm at Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art
Jahan Ramazani - William R. Kenan Professor, University of Virginia, and editor of The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry - will present the Benson Lecture, which is also the second English Symposium Series lecture of the semester on Thursday, February 24. The title of Ramazani's talk is “Who’s in, Who’s out?: Anthologizing Modern and Contemporary Poetry.” He asks, how does the editor of an anthology choose which poems and poets to include and which to exclude?
Ramazani will meet with faculty and students in 8009 Haley Center from 10 to 11 am, then meet with Penny Ingram's Topics in Critical Theory class until 12:15 pm. From 12:30 to 1:45 pm, he will have lunch with faculty and students. His lecture and reception will begin at 3 pm at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.
For more information about Ramazani, please see his website.
Robert Hughes Mount, Jr. Poetry Prize 
Deadline March 1
The Auburn University English Department is pleased to announce its annual Robert Hughes Mount, Jr., Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, and endowed by Mrs. Frances Mayes, offering a $100 prize for the best poem submitted by an Auburn University student.
Graduate or undergraduate students may submit up to three poems to Jeremy Downes' mailbox in the English Department, 9030 Haley Center. The contest deadline is March 1, 2005. More information about this contest can be found online.
Gender Questions: A Film and Discussion Series - Frida - Tuesday - March 1 - 7:30 pm in 2306 Haley Center
Gender Questions: A Film and Discussion Series sponsored by the World Literature program will show Frida (2002) on Tuesday, March 1, at 7:30 pm in 2306 Haley Center. This biography of artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is directed by Julie Taymor and stars Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, and Ashley Judd. Kahlo, one of Mexico’s esteemed painters, channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
A discussion of the movie and brown bag lunch will follow on Wednesday, March 2, at 12 pm in 2306 Haley Center.
Not Just Desserts - Lecture by Susan Lanser - Thursday - March 3 – 12:30 pm in 217 Foy
Dr. Susan Lanser will give a lecture entitled "The Sexuality of History: Sapphic Subjects and the Making of Modernity" on March 3. Her lecture, a part of the Not Just Desserts series, is sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Race Relations, Department of Foreign Languages, Women's Studies, and the
Philpott-Stevens Fund.
MTPC Oral Exam - Prashant Natarajan - Thursday - March 3 - 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center
Second-year MTPC student Prashant Natarajan will present materials from his portfolio and coursework on Thursday, March 3, at 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center.
MTPC students fulfill their degree requirements by completing an oral exam and portfolio presentation. During the oral exam, students present many of the documents they have created in their MTPC classes and that appear in their portfolios. Students also incorporate information from their course readings and discussions into their presentations.
Members of the student's advisory committee conduct the oral exam. Department members and guests are invited to attend and ask questions
EGO Intra-Departmental English Research Colloquium - Call for Abstracts - Deadline March 9
The English Graduate Organization is soliciting abstracts in all English-related fields (Literature, Rhetoric, Technical and Professional Communications, Linguistics, Theory) for an intra-departmental English research colloquium. Abstracts are due Wednesday, March 9.
The colloquium, which aims to promote active participation in the academic scholarship of our field in an informal, friendly atmosphere, is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 16, in Haley Center. Submissions are welcome from all academic levels: faculty, instructors, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduate English majors. Research at all levels of completion is invited, whether recently published or still in progress.
To submit an abstract (with any technology requests) or ask questions, contact a member of the EGO Colloquium Committee: Jill Parrott, Mary Ann Rygiel, or Stephanie Bogle.
MTPC Oral Exam - Rachel Kennedy - Thursday - March 10 - 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center
Second-year MTPC student Rachel Kennedy will present materials from her portfolio and coursework on Thursday, March 10, at 3:30 pm in 3166 Haley Center.
Breeden Teaching Grants - Application Deadline March 11
Competitive grants for teaching enhancement projects will be available again this year from the Daniel F. Breeden Endowment for Faculty Enhancement. Tenured/tenure-track faculty from all disciplines or faculty from the clinician title series with appointments continuing through the 2005-2006 academic year are eligible. Funds may be used to enhance courses or programs, enrich the core curriculum, develop workshops, or underwrite almost any activity germane to teaching or the evaluation and assessment of teaching.
Applications must be received by the Biggio Center by 4:45 pm on March 11. For more information and for application forms, visit the Biggio Center website.
IMG Academy - Application Deadline - March 15
The Instructional Multimedia Group will offer two basic and one advanced Summer Academies (now referred to as IMG Academies) this summer and is looking for faculty and GTAs to participate. These Academies aim to help participants develop teaching materials using instructional technology.
The College of Liberal Arts, as in previous years, will fund several participants for each session. This year funding has been raised to $4,000 per participant, but the number of participants funded through the College will be limited.
Applications need to be carefully planned for the best chance of acceptance. Faculty are encouraged to talk to their program coordinators and heads/chairs to find out what kinds of projects will be most useful for a program or department; graduate students and instructors must get specific approval from their program or department.
The deadline for applications is March 15. Information about application submission can be found online. Contact Wiebke Kuhn for more information or if you have any questions about the Academy.
Faculty Publication - George Crandell
George Crandell’s brief article, “Time Management for More Effective Results,” has been published in the Winter 2005 issue of The Department Chair: A Resource for Academic Administrators.
Registration for Annual STC April in Auburn Meeting
Technical and Professional Communication faculty and students and members of the Birmingham Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication will meet on Saturday, April 9, for the annual April in Auburn meeting. This year's theme will be "Writing Proposals and Grants." Chuck Keller, co-author of the textbook Proposal Writing: The Art of Friendly and Winning Persuasion, will give the keynote address: "Tips for Finding, Analyzing, and Responding to Requests for Proposals." A PDF version of the meeting's complete agenda and information about presenters can be found online.
Those planning to attend the meeting must register through the Birmingham STC website. Registration is $15 for STC members, $20 for non-members, and free for students.
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Last updated February 23, 2005