From the Chair
 

In the past issue of The Common Reader, I commented that the coming academic year promised to be a very busy one.  I wasn't aware of what an understatement I was making.  Since that time, I have learned of the following activities that need to be completed by the end of the academic year.  The order in which I list these various activities is not meant to be an indication of their importance to the department; rather, this is simply the jumbled order in which they magically appeared on the screen of my computer:

-- Preparation of "Request to Establish a Doctoral Program in Technical and Professional Discourse."  At its October meeting, the Graduate Council of the University of North Carolina unanimously approved the department's "Request to Plan" the doctoral program.  This essential step must be followed within two years by a "Request to Establish."  The university has established an even earlier deadline for the department to submit that requestóthis coming May.  By submitting the request in May, we will be able to present the proposal before the Graduate Council in October 2003.  Should the request be approved, we will be able to admit our first doctoral students for fall 2004.  Jim Holte, as Director of Graduate Studies, will be leading the effort of preparing the "Request to Establish" and will soon be appointing a committee to assist with that work.  The department anticipates receiving funding from the College of Arts and Sciences to bring in outside consultants who will offer suggestions for construction of the program.

-- Revision of the Unit Code.  With changes brought about by the transfer of English Education faculty to the School of Education and of the Writing Center to the Writing Across the Curriculum Program, the Department Code now identifies departmental officers for offices no longer in the department.  Additionally, some current practices approved by the department or mandated by the administration do not comply with provisions of the Unit Code.  At its October meeting, the department will elect faculty to examine the Unit Code and prepare needed revisions.

-- Development of the Center for Language and Culture.  The Department of English has been asked to cooperate with the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in the development of a center that will provide English language instruction and acculturation activities to non-native speakers of English and foreign language instruction and acculturation activities to speakers of English planning to travel or work abroad, or who feel a need to acquire a command of a foreign language for their particular business purposes.  Market surveys are currently underway and preliminary business plans are under development.

-- Completion (and Initiation) of Assessment Activities.  Assessment activities have arrived at ECU and are here to stay.  The Department must complete the assessment activities begun for the 2001-2002 academic year and initiate assessment activities for the current year.  Thus, faculty will soon be asked to evaluate senior portfolios submitted this past spring, to assist with the evaluation of papers chosen from among the various sections of the first-year writing program, and to identify the areas to be assessed this year.  Dean Sparrow has suggested that all assessment activities center on the notion of student research, so the department may want to reconsider its current listings of activities to be assessed.  As Director of Graduate Studies, Jim Holte will be assembling data from comprehensive examinations that are needed as part of the assessment of our M.A. program.

-- Continued Development of Distance Education (DE) Courses and Programs.  The General Administration has shown its commitment to Distance Education and the value that it places on ECU taking the lead in this field within the state by allocating to ECU an additional nine million dollars for DE courses and programs.  The Departments of English and Psychology lead the College of Arts and Sciences in the field of DE courses and programs.  Accordingly, those two departments are requesting a shared staff position for someone with expertise in Instructional Technology who will assist in the development of new courses and provide technological assistance for the improvement or daily operations of current courses.  The two departments are also requesting additional DE faculty positions.  To complement the certificate program and MA program in Technical and Professional Communication, under development are courses for a certificate program in Multicultural Literature and courses required for the add-on certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language.

-- Creation of an Advancement Council. Dean Sparrow has requested that all departments in the College of Arts and Sciences create "Advancement Councils" that will provide an opportunity for alumni and friends to become more involved with departmental activities, to use their influence to further departmental goals, and to participate in ensuring the departmentís future success.  In creating an Advancement Council for the Department of English, faculty will need to approve a charter and identify and recruit Council members.

-- Development of Recruitment Strategies.  East Carolina University has committed itself to grow by almost ten thousand students in the coming few years.  To handle these students, the department has been asked to develop "templates" that will allow students to graduate under an accelerated schedule, or perhaps to complete work for both an undergraduate and a graduate degree within a five-year period.  Additionally, the department will be asked to participate actively in the recruitment of high school students for the accelerated or multiple-degree programs that it develops.

In addition to the activities listed above, the department also has a number of ongoing activities continued from last year: its study of fixed-term faculty positions, its examination of the writing concentration, and its ongoing efforts to devise an advising program that all faculty can support.  Deep down, I suspect that there are even more activities trying to pop up on this screen, so I'm turning off the computer now.