Cover page

My Professional Writing class met with the English Department staff today, which was okay because there was free food and I was hungry. First the class met at the usual time and place then Professor Conner took roll call. He said he made muffins especially for the meeting. He mentioned that we might be late because the meeting started at 11am but not to worry because the staff would be talking to others about all things related to English. He walked with us to the Campus Activities Center which is across the campus parking lot. The walk was convenient and timely for Karalyn who stopped to put more money in the meter. The center looks like it serves double duty as an auditorium and gymnsasium. It is carpeted yet it is marked up with what looks like lines for a basketball court. The Air was either turned off or not working properly because it was really stuffy. A long table was set up on the west wall for the food. Professor Conner found a space for his muffins amongst the chips, cookies, and sandwiches. There was plenty of food but to my surprise, not a lot of people. Chairs were set up in a wide circle and we all sat down. My thought cloud read that I was glad Professor Conner made the luncheon part of our class because otherwise I would not have gone. Maybe some of the other professors should have followed his lead for a better turnout.

The meeting started with Julie Armstrong, the director of the English Department. She said the luncheon was intended to solicit feedback from students for ways to improve the department. My thought cloud read that maybe some professors got some bad “grade the teacher” reports from last semester or maybe the staff wanted feedback from students for ways to improve the department. It didn’t matter either way except that I’ve always wondered what they do with the “grade the teacher” results. Oh, Ms. Armstrong also said we were to “engage in dialogue” and something about transition. Professor Conner reminded us that “information, transition, and feedback” were keywords so I took notes.

The staff introduced themselves and gave brief descriptions of the classes they offered. Some of the personal descriptions made their classes sound way more interesting than the standard scripts given in the class schedules. There was one in particular, Dr. Frances Auld, who teaches Medieval Lit and mentioned monsters and cultural trauma. She shows some great flicks in her class, like V for Vendetta and Bladerunner. Actually each staff member is worth noting:

Trey Conner, PhD., Rhetoric and Composition – Focus: music as a communication medium

Jill McCracken, PhD., Rhetoric and Composition – Focus: marginalized population.

Morgan Gresham, PhD., Professional and Technical writing.

Tom Hallock, Asst Professor – Early American Lit – Focus: nature/environmental writing.

Dr. Peterson, creative, non-fiction, fiction – founded Wingdings, a journal that showcases students’ works. I’ve checked this out and it’s very impressive.

Diane McIntry (?) – Director of Academic Success Center, psychology background – self-proclaimed “cheerleader for writers”

Peter Rutledge – Director of Academic Success Center, psychology and education background – Focus: ASC improvements.

There were maybe 4-5 students present whose majors were either English or somehow related to English. Professor Conner's class made up the rest of the guests and most of us have unrelated majors. My thought cloud read that to maximize the potential for feedback, another session should be held and students should be required to attend as part of their class time.

We were separated into three groups and a staff member sat with each group. Morgan Gresham sat with my group. Remember her, professor of Professional and Technical writing?

She asked what we thought would benefit us and our answers were as follows:

- “real world” applications (her tech class writes grant proposals for the Science Center)

- students to assist the PHD professors with any required publications

- professionally relay info on IM and e-mails

- understand and respond to the professional writing received

- entire writing staff available as a resource

- guest speakers attend classes

- staff provide Academic Success Center with updates and maybe some tools and resources that helped them during their education.

At the end of the luncheon my thought cloud read that if they have another meeting, regardless of whether lunch was offered or whether it was on my own time, I would go.

I would go because I want to know what's going on at USFSP. The only way for me to know is if I attend meetings like this or pay attention to the information made available to students through the intranet,USF radio station, mass e-mails, and the campus newspaper, Crow's Nest. For instance, the intranet posted staff meeting notes that describe areas the college has targeted for improvement. The USF radio station is affiliated with National Public Radio and provides commercial-free news casting. A recent mass e-mail notified students about trespassers found on campus. The latest issue of Crow's Nest announced that a couple of students must pay fines for illegally downloading music. These sources not only provide information but also serve as oppurtunities for students to become active members in their campus community.

Colleges that welcome feedback from their students, as did the luncheon described earlier, prescribe to a collaborative philosophy of teaching. In fact, the USFSP English Department includes this prescription in their mission statement. Being an active member in the campus community is an important aspect of the college experience. It also provides students with an opportunity to network with an academic staff whom they may not have met otherwise. Imagine the wealth of knowledge that exists among the scholars in college. It is also important to note that scholars are not limited to the academic staff. I believe the student body is also a network of budding scholars, some of whom have made themselves available in the Academic Success Center. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with a graduate student in the ASC that helped me with a term paper. Her enthusiasm and passion for writing was contagious, not to mention extremely helpful. She turned me on to some free bibliography sites like Easybib, Knightcite, or Citationmachine that are all user friendly and very helpful.

I also found that my fellow students in my professional writing class are helpful in so many areas. Felesha discovered that USFSP offers a website that helps students find inexpensive transportation, clothing, and furnishings. Eric shares his knowledge about finding low cost school and home supplies on our professional writing class website. This website is in and of itself an information highway where interesting topics like Milli's take on outsourcing can be found.

At first glance, this website does not appear to be about professional writing but after perusing the "pages", one quickly finds that all the writing and blogging are filled with conviction, which is the at the core of professional writing. Whatever the topic, writing must be written with conviction in order to be convincing and that is what the context of professional writing must be.

All the resources I have encountered at USFSP promote the English Department's initiative to collaborate with students and support the college's committment to the success of the entire academic community, on and off the campus.

My remixes

Vivian's final remix of Milli's narrative

Vivian's final remix of Eric's narrative

Vivian's final remix of Felesha's narrative