Year-at-a-Glance Department Calendar University Calendar Graduate School Calendar

Open Forum Discussion
All faculty and graduate students are invited to attend the Open Forum Discussion to be held today from 3:00 to 4:45 p.m. in HC 1203. This opportunity is an effort to facilitate communication among all groups in the department, and a chance to talk about what is important to you and to the Department.

The discussion will be divided into two segments. In the first part, discussion will focus on some of the larger issues facing our department.  In the second part, discussion will focus on more specific issues about which your response is needed: 1) a proposal from the Great Books Committee about scheduling classes; and 2) the proposals to re-allocate summer funding.

This forum is a first attempt to encourage widespread participation in matters of importance to the department as a whole. It is likewise an attempt to involve more people in the process that leads to decisions affecting everyone in the department.

Prior to the meeting, you can expect to receive: 1) a summary of the various discussion sessions at New Directions '02; 2) the proposal about scheduling classes from the Great Books Committee; and 3) the latest drafts of proposals to re-allocate summer funds.

Please make plans to attend.

Great Books News
Please remember to collect two copies from each of your students of the second formal paper they write for your Great Books classes. At the end of the term one paper from each set (along with a final exam) will be collected for assessment purposes.  Please share this information with your colleagues in the department.

Make plans to attend a meeting today at 3:00 pm in HC 1203.  This department-wide meeting will have on its agenda an initial discussion of a proposal the Great Books committee has drafted to try to implement a pilot plan to assign teachers (of all ranks) to GB classes before the registration period begins. A hard copy of the proposal will appear in your mailboxes soon on bright colored paper. Please read it, think about it, and come on Wednesday prepared to discuss it. Contact Constance Relihan for more information.

Pebble Hill Program
On Thursday, November 7, at 4:00 p.m. Johnny Williams will read from his new novel Lake Moon. Williams, an Auburn native, teaches English at LaGrange College. A reception will follow the reading.

Women and Politics: A Global Perspective
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the College of Liberal Arts are pleased to invite you to a major university-sponsored public event entitled "Women and Politics: A Global Perspective." This event will be held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center on Thursday, November 21, 2002.

For more information about the event click here. This event is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost.

CLA to offer IT Workshops
The College of Liberal Arts will offer two workshops from December 17, 2002 to December 19, 2002. The workshops will be: The Ultimate WebCT Crash Course and Advanced PowerPoint/Power Point 2002.  

The Ultimate WebCT Crash Course
This workshop will give you an intense introduction into the course management tool WebCT.  It will help greatly if you have already created your content (i.e., text files, images files, list of links, PowerPoint presentations).  This workshop will run in the mornings from 8:30-noon in 201 Tichenor.  We will work on the following points but will also have time to deal with individual questions and concerns:

Advanced PowerPoint/Power Point 2002
This workshop will introduce participants to PowerPoint 2002 and its new features.   It will be useful if you already have some content, data, and images that can be used to design your own PowerPoint presentation for either teaching or other presentation purposes.  This workshop will run in the afternoons from 1:00-4:30 in 201 Tichenor except for December 17, where we will meet from 12:30-3:00.  This session will cover the following topics: 

In order to be considered for either of these workshops (and you can apply for both), please send your proposals to Bryan Taylor or Wiebke Kuhn by November 22nd.  Your proposal should answer the following:

Participants will receive a modest stipend of $200 for their completed participation.

The Conference Paper: A "How To" Panel for Graduate Students
On Monday, November 11 at 4:00 p.m. in HC 3184, EGO will sponsor a panel on "The Conference Paper."  Dr. Simpkins, Dr. Keirstead, Dr. Relihan, and Matthew Binney will discuss "how to" select a conference,  write an abstract, know what conference panel organizers are looking for, and turn a seminar paper into a conference paper.  The panel will also discuss what graduate students should expect when attending a conference and what we need to know about the paper presentation itself.  

All graduate students are invited to attend and encouraged to bring questions.

Career Panel
The Sigma Tau Delta/ English Club will have a Career Panel on Friday, November 8 in Haley Center 3218 at 12:15 p.m.  Please bring your lunch and questions.  Panel participants all hold B.A.'s from AU's English Department. They include: 

If you would like to include an item in the "Professional Notes" section of The English Channel, please submit your note to Betsy Smith or Alise Chabaud.

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Please submit items and direct all questions or comments about The English Channel to Betsy Smith or Alise Chabaud.

To include an item in The English Channel, submit text items by Tuesday at 11:40 a.m. for publication Wednesday. Graphic images are due by the preceding Friday at 11:40 a.m. Submit items by email or by putting a note or disk in Alise Chabaud's mailbox (disks will be returned). If you submit an image on disk, please make sure that it can be edited to fit and be read clearly on the page. Items over fifty words in length should be submitted on disk or sent by email. Please check your submission for accuracy and completion--all calendar items and meeting announcements must include the date, time, and location of the event. Please omit all unusual formatting.