The Graduate Program in English

We've all been following the rollercoaster of the stock market in the past year, trading heavily in equal shares of trepidation and exhilaration. That exercise of observing and responding has been helpful also for those of us attending to the fortunes of the Graduate Program in English here at Saint Xavier. We bounced back from a bearish fall of 1998 that saw our enrollment at a six-year low to a positively bullish spring semester 1999 during which we exceeded goals by 135%. Graduation in May saw a binge of profit-taking, and eight of our MA candidates either finished their course work at that time or completed degree requirements altogether. We appeared to be facing another "down market" for fall 1999, but at this point in the summer, registration places our enrollments close to goal, and the carillon bells are issuing a faint rendition of "Happy Days Are Here Again." I'll now drop the Louis Rukeyser imitation, and you can breathe a sigh of relief.

My point, of course, is that we've had an up-and-down year. One of the definite "ups" was the inaugural Evangeline Bollinger Memorial Lecture, an occasion that has replaced the annual English Graduate Lecture and is a fitting tribute to Professor Bollinger's lengthy and distinguished tenure here as teacher, scholar, and administrator. In November 1998, this series was initiated in McGuire Hall by Professor Martha Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. Her lecture on the value of liberal education in a multicultural society was well attended, well received, and set a high standard for future events. November 10, 1999 saw the second installment of this series, Dr. Thomas Werge of Notre Dame presented "The `Mystic Chords of Memory': Lincoln and Twain on Slavery's Sin and the Hope for National Redemption."

Also last fall, our Teaching of Writing concentration made a definitive step forward with the appearance of Dr. Bonadonna's course "Technology and the Writing Classroom." While the class experienced some of the inevitable glitches and obstacles that come with pushing the severely taxed computing facilities here, the course is essential to bringing our program of study into alignment with current theory and practice at all levels of composition instruction. The administration is backing our efforts in this, and improvement will follow.

A "down" for our department and the graduate program followed in the spring with the retirement of Dr. Katie Witek. Dr. Witek has worked tirelessly in this program from its inception, and the Teaching of Writing concentration within it is largely a product of her initiative. As alumni, you know Dr. Witek well; for many of you she was a cherished teacher and guide, and for some of you she was a classmate. In any case we're certain that you join us in a chorus of gratitude and fond wishes for fulfillment in this next stage of her life.

As a yin to Dr. Witek's yang, Dr. Lawrence Musgrove joined the graduate faculty in the fall. Dr. Musgrove comes to us from the University of Southern Indiana where he has been an assistant professor of English and that university's first writing program administrator. Dr. Musgrove has devoted much of his scholarly effort to research in the areas of assessment, student attitudes toward writing, curriculum development, and the ethics of reading. In our program he'll be handling a number of duties and taking on many of the Teaching of Writing courses along with Dr. Bonadonna. In addition he's a published poet and will be able to shore up the creative element in the department. We're indeed fortunate to have him with us.

We continue to consider a third option in the MA program&emdash;a Master's of English in Professional Writing. If you have strong feelings or ideas about this notion, one way or the other, we'd appreciate hearing from you.

With increased support from the administration for graduate programs at the University, we're anticipating a banner year. You'll be seeing more evidence of us than you have in the past, and we believe that our program will flourish in that atmosphere.