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- Read this before the semester starts!
Read this before the semester starts!
Kelsey Smith
August 28, 2023
Did you know that University Writing has added two new full-time faculty members to its team? And did you know they’ve both been hired as assistant teaching professors? Be on the lookout for Shannon Stimpson, our new WRTG 150 coordinator, and Sam Dunn, our new WRTG 316 coordinator. (Hopefully, their photos will be posted soon so we can introduce ourselves with confidence! )
UNIV 101 coming Winter 2024
The new GE is still under construction, but one small part of the new GE is starting Winter 2024: all students will be required to take their first semester a two-credit seminar class taught by a full-time faculty member—UNIV 101: First-Year Foundations for Student Success.
This course is designed to help students understand and connect with BYU’s mission, develop as disciples and scholars, and discover ways to contribute and feel a sense of belonging to the BYU community.
UNIV is also designed to help students connect with a full-time faculty member and with each other—every major will have faculty teaching the course and class sizes will be capped at 20. Faculty will follow a set of lesson plans developed by General Education, and UNIV 101 can be substituted for one of the following GE requirements: Letters, Arts, Civilization 1, Civilization 2, Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, or Physical Sciences.
In addition to helping students feel part of BYU, UNIV 101 will introduce students to all the many campus resources BYU has to offer: Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the Research and Writing Center (RWC), the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL), BYU Careers and Experiential Learning Office, the Office of Belonging, and more!
Find out more about UNIV: 101 at the Undergraduate Education Open House: Tuesday, August 29 @ the Maeser Building 3:30-5 pm.
University Writing will help us navigate upcoming changes!
When Shelli Spotts spoke at our meeting last Thursday (August 24) about the changes to the WRTG 150 contest, some of us WRTG 150 teachers panicked: We need to be teaching narrative?! We need to teach in a certain order—narrative, inquiry, and advocacy?! WHAT ABOUT THE FALL SCHEDULE I JUST PUBLISHED?!?
Take a deep breath, WRTG 150 teachers. As Amy Williams, our new UW coordinator, assured us, all is well if you have your fall schedule set and it features the conference paper instead of the inquiry report. You’ve got time—until Fall 2024—to shift your curriculum to where it needs to be: narrative, inquiry, advocacy.
But more importantly, we all have a whole team to help us: University Writing’s Amy Williams (coordinator) and Meridith Reed (associate coordinator) along with two full-time faculty UW newcomers Shannon Stimpson (WRTG 150 coordinator) and Sam Dunn (WRTG 316 coordinator) are going to help all of us get to where we need to next year. Keep an eye out for the UW’s helpful trainings! (The first one is on Thursday, September 28—see Stuff for Your Calendar below for details!)
Next fall, with our UW coaches cheering us on, we’ll be like Olympic gold-medal synchronized swimmers: narrative, inquiry, advocacy. Of course, we’ll be able to do our own dance moves as we move in the same direction. It’s going to be a rejuvenating, fun time.
Who you gonna email?
Sometimes you don’t know who to email (or call—people do still call; I called someone this very day), so here’s a guide to help you direct your emails to the right place:
Email the University Writing Team (Amy Williams, UW coordinator; Meridith Reed, UW associate coordinator; or Jen Lindsey, UW office manager) if you need help with
Any class beginning with WRTG—curriculum, materials, textbooks
WRTG course training
WRTG course teaching schedule
Student complaints, requests, or concerns
University Writing policies (like attendance and Zoom)
Adjunct Faculty Annual Review
Classroom changes (or concerns)
Teaching contracts
Email the English Department Team (Heather Hammond, business manager; Juli Todd, office manager; Mary Eyring, DEC member over adjunct relations; or Dennis Cutchins, DEC member over curriculum) if you need help with
Any class beginning with ENGL—curriculum, materials, textbooks
ENGL course training
ENGL course teaching schedule
New employee department orientation
Job applications and the clearance process
Contract or pay-rate questions
Office assignments and office key access
Facility or maintenance concerns
Email account
Contact another member of the English Department Team, Wendy Cloutier, if you have any computer, copier, printing, office supplies, mail, or library book request questions or concerns. She will help you!
And if you have any health concerns, clearance issues, or grievances, please contact BYU’s Office of Faculty Relations. They’ll be happy to help you!
Of course, you’re welcome to email me, Katie Palfreyman (aka the adjunct faculty liaison) with any questions or concerns you have (or are too embarrassed to ask or discuss). It’s my job to help you!
University Writing needs a t-shirt too!
Or maybe we need moody beanies to let the world know we’re serious about writing.
If you have any ideas for University Writing swag, please send them my way. So far I’ve only had mediocre ideas: To Write Is Human, Writing: A Darn Good Time, Write Write Write!, Writing Is Fun!
Or maybe we should feature a writer and a quote from them about writing.
Perhaps a beanie would be best: just needs the the neat script BYU University Writing on it . . . Send me your ideas!
Set your temple recommend alarm right now!
Open up LDS Tools and go to More / Settings / Temple Recommend Reminder—turn it ON! You and all who work in hiring at BYU will thank you!
Adobe Express is now available to you and your students for FREE!
Starting this semester you and your students can use Adobe Express for free just by logging in with your [email protected] address. Adobe Express is like Canva but better! (Canva’s downloaded files always have that ”free,” slightly blurry look.) One great way to use Express is for social media posts, like Instagram and TikTok.
Our Makeshift Website
As I’ve noted before, Ansalee Greenwood, Greyson Gurley, Kelsey Smith, and I are hard at work writing content for our Adjunct Faculty Website (and we are continually surprised at how much stuff we need to cover!). Until this website is up and running, here are links to some helpful Google docs (which you can also find in your “swag” folder that’s sitting in your mailbox right now):
Adjunct Faculty Book Club—sign up to read Willpower by Sep. 15!
Observation Opportunities—sign up to be observed or find someone to observe!
Write NOW!—want to get some of your own writing done? Write NOW! can help!
Stuff for your calendar
Calendars are starting to percolate! Take a few minutes to check out The English Department Calendar.
AUGUST
August 29: University Breakfast @ 8-9:30 am at Brigham Square WSC. Celebrate the new academic year and mingle with other BYU employees over breakfast. Feel free to bring a guest—just make sure you reserve a ticket(s)!
August 30: College of Humanities Opening Ceremony and Lunch @ 10:30-12 pm with lunch from 12-1 pm in B092 JFSB. Come listen to Dean Scott Miller give his State of the Union/College and find out who’s been recently hired and who’s earned awards.
SEPTEMBER
September 12: Add/Drop Deadline
September 22: English Department Dinner in the Park (Lion’s Park in Provo)! Please join us—and please bring your people (spouse, children, roommate, BFF). It’s a good time! RSVP today—or by September 7!
September 28: MANDATORY University Writing Training @ 11 am in 4186 JFSB. University Writing Coordinator Amy Williams will be sharing with us the reflection model that the new course UNIV 101 will be using and that we need to start using so our students can get the most from reflection, one of the most helpful skills they can gain while at BYU.
OCTOBER
TBA
NOVEMBER
November 24: Student Ratings Start!
DECEMBER
December 1: Withdraw Deadline
December 1: The English Reading Series—featuring Darlene Young, a Fellow Adjunct!—@ 12 pm in the HBLL Auditorium.
December 15: Student Ratings End
December 15: English Department Christmas Lunch (aka You Survived the Semester!) @ 12-1:30 pm in 4088 JFSB. Fa la la la!
December 29: Grades DUE b