From the Chair

The beginning of the academic year finds the department welcoming the largest freshman class in the history of East Carolina University.  The department has added a number of new faculty to help us deal with this large number of students.  Joining the department this semester in tenure-track appointments are Assistant Professors Resa Bizzaro, Helena Feder, Ylce Irizarry, Marianne Montgomery, Clancy Ratliff, and Associate Professor Dana Harrington.  Returning to our ranks after a two-year leave of absence is Assistant Professor Mikko Tuhkanen.   New fixed-term faculty are Lecturer Beth Copeland and Visiting Assistant Professors Jonathan Goodwin and Donna Padgett.

When tenure-track faculty are recruited to join us, members of the department have the opportunity to meet them, to review their vitas, and to attend their presentations.  For our new fixed-term colleagues, however, contact with faculty during the recruiting process is very limited and newcomers may remain strangers to many members of the department.  For that reason, in this month's column I'm going to focus briefly on each of our three new fixed-term colleagues by way of providing an introduction.

Beth Copeland received her BA in English from St. Andrews Presbyterian College and her MFA in Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University, where she attended classes with fellow student Bill Hallberg.  Following graduation, Beth held a number of positions with non-profit organizations while publishing poems, essays, and articles in such varied publications as The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, Woman's World, North American Review, and Atlanta Review.  Her book of poetry, Traveling through the Glass, which was published in 2000, received the Bright Hill Press National Poetry Award.   Beth has presented numerous readings of her work and also held positions as a visiting writer or writer in residence.

A native from the "down east" town of Atlantic, North Carolina, Jonathan Goodwin received his BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and his MA and PhD from the University of Florida, where he was a research assistant for Norman Holland.  Following receipt of his doctorate, Jonathan was named a Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Although his dissertation focused on the British Novel of the 1920s and 1930s, Jonathan also has scholarly interests in narrative theory, media studies, and literature and science.

Unlike Beth and Jonathan, Donna Padgett is no stranger to ECU, having received her BS in English Education and MA in English from our department.  She subsequently received her doctorate from the University of South Carolina, where she specialized in rhetoric and composition.  An experienced teacher, Donna has taught at a number of institutions in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina, with most of her teaching assignments involving composition or business and technical communication classes.

I would be remiss if I did not provide an introduction and welcome to another important addition to our department, Mary Paul, who recently joined us as the Administrative Services Assistant for the department.  A graduate of Meredith College with a double major in History and Political Science, Mary has spent much of her career inside the beltway, serving as an assistant to the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission and as the Chief Administrative Officer for a Congressional Committee of the US House of Representatives.  She also has worked as an assistant to campaign directors for both Jim Hunt and Erskine Bowles.  Before returning to Greenville this fall to resume her education on a part-time basis, Mary was the program director for a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.

Our new colleagues bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the department. I hope that all members of the department will not only welcome them, but call upon them as appropriate to share their expertise.