Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss
Tuesday 21 May 2024, 3:00 – 4:30 PM in V219: English Department Meeting
The English Department will have its last meeting for the semester on Tuesday 21 May 2024 from 3:00 to 4:30 PM in V219. The agenda includes updates from the Career Development & Experiential Learning’s director, Marisa Joseph; updates from elected reps; and updates on Mission statement work. We’ll also discuss English program leadership and committee structure – options & preferences. Rachel will present on OER, and Sara will present the curriculum committee’s work.
College Council Elections
Elections for College Council will take place on Tuesday 21 May 2024 and Wednesday 22 May 2024 to elect 1 part time and 5 full-time delegates. An email will be sent Tuesday morning with instructions for voting. The candidates for full time delegates include English Department colleague Rob Cowan. The voting instructions say that we may vote for up to five candidates; if there is a candidate whom you would particularly like to see elected, you are not required to vote for others besides that one.
Association of Writers and Writing Programs 2025 Conference Event Proposals
A message from Brian Katz:
AWP is accepting event proposals for its 2025 conference. The submission deadline is Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. If you are interested, please see below. If you plan on submitting a proposal and would like support (in any form), please let Eben and Brian know.
Anyone who is interested in submitting a #AWP25 proposal should review the guidelines detailed here: https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/event_proposals_guidelines and the presenter guidelines AWP: Conference Presenter Guidelines (awpwriter.org) before submitting a proposal. You can find additional resources for crafting and submitting an AWP event proposal on the Event Proposals overview page: https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/event_proposals_overview
For #AWP25, we will continue to accept both in-person and virtual conference event proposals. All virtual conference events will be prerecorded and made available for both in-person and virtual attendees to watch on demand online during #AWP25. Anyone who is interested in submitting a virtual event proposal should visit the Virtual Conference Events page for details: https://www.awpwriter.org/awp_conference/event_proposals_virtual_conference_event
You do not need to be an AWP member to propose or participate in an event. However, you must have an active AWP user account. You can create a free AWP account on our website. Please note participation limits. You may be listed as a participant or moderator on no more than three proposals, including both in-person and virtual event proposals. If more than two of these proposals are accepted, you will be asked to step down from one of your events.
Once you submit your proposal, your event participants will receive an email asking them to confirm their willingness to be added to your event. Each person must link the proposal to their own AWP account by Thursday, May 30, 2024, or your event will not be considered. If you have any questions about submitting a #AWP25 event proposal, please email events@awpwriter.org.
Friday 24 May 2024, 10 AM – 12 PM: Let’s Continue the Conversation: What Students Told Us: Understanding and Building on our Fall ENG12 Student Survey – A PD Session
A message from Hope Parisi:
Last fall, via the initiative of our composition program coordinators, Rachel Ihara and Greg Bruno, two surveys went out to all students in ENG1200 and 12A0, one at midterm and one after the semester was over. The midterm survey asked students about how they saw themselves as writers, how they were doing so far in ENG12, and what kinds of things were contributing, or not, to their success. The survey for students after the semester was over asked how they did in the class and the things that helped or impeded their success. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness recently helped us to analyze the results, and we would like to share this report with you. Rachel will lend first-hand perspective, but we greatly need English faculty input as well.
Let’s discuss: Do these results from the recently completed ENG 1200 and 12A0 student surveys match your experiences and impressions of students’ struggles? What strategies can we brainstorm to best respond to this information?
Join us for a professional development session, Friday, May 24, 10am-12noon, on Zoom, paid for part-timers and open to all. Please come for to this session even if you attended in April (and appreciate the productive overlap!) Here is the Zoom link for the upcoming session, May 24 at 10am. Let’s continue the conversation! Hope to see you there! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81561761486?pwd=dFpnRDdsZzRsSlVtOGlUM0dxamQwdz09
Meeting ID: 815 6176 1486 Passcode: 779149
Spring 2024 Final Exam Schedule
Academic Scheduling has just circulated the final exam schedule for this semester. You’ll notice that it’s a somewhat different approach than previous terms. The exam times generally resemble the times that the classes meet during the semester. Please take a moment to review the final exam meeting times for the courses you are teaching and let Annie know if you discover a conflict between any of your courses. https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/registrar/finals-schedule.html
11 June 2024: English Department Bruncheon
A message from Annie:
Believe it or not, we’re approaching the end of another busy and productive academic year, and it’s time to announce our end-of-term gathering. I’m calling it a bruncheon – combo brunch/luncheon — given the generous span of time we’ll have to chat, mingle, eat, and just generally spend some low-pressure time together at the end of the year. We chose Tuesday of finals week, 11 June 2024, since a high percentage of our English classes are scheduled for their “exam periods” on that day. We’re hopeful that many of you will choose to attend! Once again, I’d like to offer a big shout out to Enid for arranging for catering and logistics for this event – thank you Enid! If you plan to attend, please drop off your cash payment in the English department office for Enid Stubin or Elroy Esdaille – in envelopes in their mailboxes – or with Christine or Shelly. In order to cover costs, we’re asking full-time faculty for $25 and part-time faculty for $10.
Composition Coordinators Office Hours for Spring 2024
The English Department’s composition coordinators are available on campus and on Zoom this spring:
Gregory Bruno (Gregory.Bruno@kbcc.cuny.edu)
Tuesdays in C309B: 11:00 am-3:00 pm (later on Dept. and CRC meeting dates)
Wednesday in C309B: 8:30 am-12:30 pm
And by appointment via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6372657798?pwd=L28zMVBxenZzR05vbU1GRis5ajRUZz09
Rachel Ihara (Rachel.ihara@kbcc.cuny.edu)
Tuesdays in C309B: 11:30 am-12:30 pm and 2:30 pm-4:00 pm
Thursdays in C309B: 11:30 am-12:30 pm and 2:30 pm-4:00 pm
Fridays, 9:00 am-11:00 am and by appointment via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5834566892
Faculty Mentor and Support Hours in E219
A message from Hope Parisi:
Hope Parisi is in E219 this semester, available for informal chats with new and experienced part-time faculty, and all faculty, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:40pm-2:30pm, with more availability by phone or Zoom according to wish or need. Please come by this welcoming environment if you’re on campus. Hope’s email is Hope.Parisi@kbcc.cuny.edu.
English Department Protocol for Faculty Absences
A reminder of the department protocol when you cannot meet your students during a regularly scheduled class meeting, whether in-person or online synchronously: You must report all absences to our department immediately, ideally before the class session that you will miss. Please send an email to Shelly Benjamin (please cc Christine Marchese), who will initiate the absence paperwork process for you. Please be advised that it is against CUNY and NYSED policy for a faculty member to modify a course’s modality during a semester, so it is not acceptable to meet students online, whether synchronously or asynchronously, when you cannot meet them in person. In such a case, you must cancel class and take an absence for that class period.
When you know in advance that you must be absent, remember that you can contact Shelly Benjamin and request that she try to find another faculty member who can sub your class for you. Please do not arrange for a sub on your own because many of our faculty members are at their maximum hours for the year and cannot be paid more for additional teaching hours.
A Note about the Newsletter
A message from Jane Weiss, the Newsletter editor:
The next issue of the Newsletter will come out on Wednesday 29 May 2024. Please send newsletter items by Friday 24 May 2024 to Jane Weiss at Jane.Weiss@kbcc.cuny.edu. Please keep items brief (preferably 100 or fewer words). Longer items will be abridged. Many faculty members would like to learn more about colleagues’ areas of scholarship, so if you would like to share what you’re working on, the Newsletter will welcome descriptions of your research and recent or upcoming presentations, publications, and performances of all kinds.
