Fall 2021 All-Faculty Meeting Announcements

Faculty Hour on Tuesday afternoons! Kim Shuckra (Tuesdays 4-5 pm and other times TBD, in the Conference Room and via Zoom)

Faculty hour is an opportunity to reconnect with our community, and to share who we are as teachers, scholars, and writers. In the first half hour, a faculty member will share expertise, best practices, and/or experiences on topics ranging from curricular initiatives, to best ELL practices in the multilingual classroom, to creative endeavors. Topic suggestions are welcome and encouraged. The second half is dedicated to open discussion. As we all know, innovative projects and collaborations can often evolve through an unexpected casual conversation. We’ll kick off the first meeting on 9/14 with a faculty reading. Stop by in person or join on Zoom.

Fall Faculty Seminar for WR 153–Creativity and Innovation in the Writing Classroom: Dora Goss (Meets Thursdays 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, and 10/21 from 3:30 to 5:00 on Zoom)

Considering teaching WR 153 next spring? In this fall’s faculty seminar, we will explore theories of creativity and innovation, focusing particularly on the principles of design thinking and its non-linear, iterative steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test, assess. We will discuss how to incorporate design thinking into our courses by creating assignments that encourage students to come up with new strategies and approaches, develop and refine their ideas in response to feedback, and learn from productive failure. Registration info coming soon.

Sub Alliance: Lesley Yoder

Please consider taking advantage of the Sub Alliance if you have to miss 1-2 days of class, for whatever reason. We are a group of FT colleagues who will be on call to cover classes for all WP instructors (PT, FT, & GWF) on a short-term basis. Gone are the days of frantically emailing the listserv to find coverage! To request a sub, either fill out the handy request form on WPnet > Forms  (see “Teaching Support”), or email Lesley Yoder at layoder@bu.edu. We are wishing you & your loved ones well this school year, but if anything happens, please know that the Sub Alliance is waiting in the wings, ready to support you!

Curriculum Coordinators’ news: Kevin Barents. Jessica Bozek, and Malavika Shetty

Journal: We are in the process of considering an overhaul of the WR journal. In the meantime, we are putting together a “pandemic time capsule” issue with work that reflects and acknowledges students’ experiences and thoughts during the Spring 2020, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021 semesters. We especially encourage multimedia submissions. Teachers may submit one project (written or otherwise). Nominating teachers should write a brief introduction that contextualizes the project, focusing less on presenting perfect models and more on capturing poignant projects that arose during the pandemic. Submissions are due here by Friday, October 15, 2021. 

Mentoring: Coordinators will consult with new faculty informally by offering informal, non-evaluative feedback on a class session early in the semester. We are also available to talk with all faculty about resources and curriculum. Email Kevin Barents (kbarents@bu.edu), Jessica Bozek (jbozek@bu.edu),  Malavika Shetty (mlshetty@bu.edu), if you have any questions or would like to set up a meeting.

CMI: Seth Blumenthal and Stephanie Kolberg

The Collaborative Mentoring Initiative groups together mentoring clusters of four that include two experienced faculty, both part-time and full-time, paired with either two new faculty members or Graduate Writing Fellows teaching in the WP. We are reaching out to recruit anyone who would be interested in visiting classes, reviewing materials and drinking coffee with other committed teachers in this supportive and flexible mentoring model. Please reach out to Stephanie Kolberg (skolberg@bu.edu) or Seth Blumenthal (sblument@bu.edu) with questions or your availability/teaching times if you’d like to participate. We will also have an informational CMI town hall next Monday (9/13) at 5 PM. 

DEI news: Swati Rani, Noor Hashem, Carroll Beauvais

The Writing Program’s DEI committee centers marginalized communities and identities by fostering inclusivity and intersectionality in WP culture, curriculum, instruction, and hiring. This year, the committee’s immediate focus will be trauma-informed pedagogy and building community/affinity. There will be a faculty seminar in February on methods of decolonizing curriculum, and we are collaborating with admin to establish more equitable hiring practices. If you are new or old to the writing program, full-time or part-time, and are interested in joining this committee, please contact the co-chairs Swati Rani, (raniphd@bu.edu), Noor Hashem (nhashem@bu.edu), and Carroll Beauvais (cwbeau@bu.edu). All are welcome.

Core fellowship opportunity: Kyna Hamill

The Core Curriculum invites interest in our fellowship opportunities in AY22-23. Core is a learning community that offers interdisciplinary study of foundational works in small-class discussion seminars. Core’s faculty come from almost every department in CAS. To facilitate teaching in this interdisciplinary curriculum, we offer a number of Core Faculty Fellowships that enable FT faculty to receive a course release while auditing one of our eight foundational courses with a pledge to teach in future years. Expressions of interest can be sent to Kyna Hamill, Director of the Core Curriculum, at kyna@bu.edu.

Boston Now: Holly Schaaf and Allison Blyler

Boston Now is a WP curricular initiative focusing on outside-the-classroom experiences and place-based learning. Students in our seminars explore Boston’s diverse neighborhoods, iconic landmarks, natural landscapes, and museums, attend events from live performances to community meetings, and engage with a range of artistic, environmental, and social justice movements. We’re eager to help faculty transition back to in-person experiential learning and will send out a survey in mid-September to get a sense of interest in these areas. We’re also keen to attract WP faculty to develop new Boston Now courses. All are welcome at our October 13th meeting and to email us with questions and ideas. Holly Schaaf hcschaaf@bu.edu and Allison Blyler ablyler@bu.edu

Writing Center reminders: Heather Barrett

The CAS Writing Center opened last Tuesday, September 7. Our consultants are ready to support your students at any stage in the writing/thinking/creating process and with any WR assignment. Please encourage your students to watch our introductory video and check out our social media. You can also have a consultant visit your class. If you have any students who seem like strong candidates for extra support, you can encourage them to sign up for our new program, TIPS (Tutoring with an Individual Plan for Support)–more information to come soon, or they (or you) can email heathbar@bu.edu.