August 15, 2024
Hi all. I’m writing to welcome all of you back after what I hope was a revivifying and productive summer. Tomorrow, CHESS will be hosting an all faculty-staff meeting in Fretwell 100 from 8:30 until 11:00am. Among other things, this gathering will give all of us a chance to hear from our new Dean, Chris Boyer, in person. I had some good conversations with him over the summer, and what I’ve learned so far is that he knows his way around horses, cares deeply about the environment, and can say a thing or two about Star Wars. You should have received an email notification about the CHESS event. If not, let me know. As I trust all of you are aware, classes begin this coming Monday. Just as Paula has over the past few years, I want to give you a few updates and reminders as we begin the new academic year.
New Administrative Team
As a reminder, as of July 1st, the department has a new set of administrators. I am now chair of the department, taking over for Paula Eckard. Bryn Chancellor is the department’s Associate Chair. She will not only be in charge of putting together fall, spring, and summer schedules, but she will also fill in for the chair when need be. Meghan Barnes has replaced Lara Vetter as Graduate Director, managing our very healthy graduate program. And Clayton Tarr will again be running our multifaceted undergraduate program as Undergraduate Director. That is, once his office is drained of Debby water. Still with us are Tiffany Morin, English Learning Community Coordinator, and Matt Rowney, English Honors Director.
Office Staff News
Of course, as all of you know, Angie retired this past June. She will forever be missed. The good news is that nothing–neither moat nor electric fence–will keep her away from her old colleagues, especially Monica Burke. I, for one, am looking forward to stories of grandchildren, new friends, impossible problems solved, and pickleball.
Over the summer, Angie, Paula, and I conducted a search for Angie’s replacement as the department’s Business Services Coordinator. As Paula announced, we selected Monica who was one of two finalists for the position. Monica began work as BSC on June 17th. Congratulations Monica! At the beginning of July, Bryn, Clayton, and I (with much help from Monica and Sheila Reaves in HR) began the process of searching for a new Administrative Support Associate. As I will formally announce in the next few days, we recently were able to hire an excellent applicant.
As the semester gets underway, you can help staff handle their workloads by being mindful that they are each charged with a plethora of essential jobs each semester. As in the past, they would appreciate it if you made your own copies and scans, submitted travel documents promptly, provided syllabi when requested, and responded to their other requests as quickly as possible. If all goes according to plan, we will have student workers available to assist you but their hours will be limited. We are fortunate in that Lane Rhodes will be continuing on PT as an office assistant this fall, tasked with helping out with the front desk, our Honors program, and miscellaneous office work.
Website and Social Media
The amazing Gina Karp, our professional advisor, is now in charge of managing our website and social-media accounts. The department will be paying Gina to do this for the foreseeable future. Thanks to JuliAnna Avila, Liz Miller, and Lara Vetter for helping out with our social-media accounts over the past few years. All website updates and social-media posts should be sent to Gina via email. As far as the latter go, we will be especially interested in posting information about department-related events that you are planning and have run, about your professional accomplishments, and about the many incredible achievements of our students and alums. Images help. They really, really help.
Lounge
You’ll notice that a number of books shelves are now lining the walls of our lounge. Years ago, books used to be a part of what faculty, staff, and students encountered when they spent time there. I have elected to bring them back, long worrying that an English department lounge without books is like a swimming pool without water, a forest without trees, a cafeteria without food, a Bank of America Teaching Excellence Award ceremony without an English instructor (Go Mark!!). For now, these shelves are filled with bound periodicals that the department has saved from disposal at Atkins to make way for chairs, couches, study spaces, gaming mats, arcades, etc. Over time, I imagine them being replaced with anthologies, monographs, dictionaries, concordances, plays, poems, novels, graphic novels, scientific studies, biographies, and whatever else faculty and students elect to put there. To start the process off, there are empty shelves awaiting tenants near the door.
Travel
Monica will soon send out information about travel allocations for 2024-25 and procedures for travel reimbursement. We have not yet been given information about summer money, but I’m hopeful that we will be able to accept requests for a second round of travel money as in years past.
Speaking of our beloved travel procedures, new this August is the Concur Management System for Travel and Expense Management. All travel requests will now have to be entered through Concur. I will be going over the ins and outs of the system at our first department meeting. No one is happier than I am to announce yet another digital platform that we will all be charged with learning and using. The hope is that it will streamline the travel reimbursement process.
Syllabi, Office Hours, and Other Semester Information
Lane will send out a request for syllabi and office hours soon. Please provide these promptly. Ridiculously late syllabi will be posted on the dark web. If you have had any changes in your personal address or contact information, please provide that information as well.
Please keep the following in mind or as the young(ish) dane would advise, “in your tables: meet it is you set it down that”: (1) Classes must meet during their scheduled final examination time; this meeting time may be used for oral presentation, discussion, lecture or whatever is appropriate. (2) No required activities are permitted on Reading Day (December 5th). (3) A weekday football game on Thursday, October 31 will require classes on the main campus that begin after 2:30 p.m. to make alternative arrangements. (4) Simone Biles might be the most amazing athlete that the world has ever seen. Gravity means nothing to her.
The Academic Calendar includes important dates (withdrawal dates, drop/add dates, unsatisfactory midterm unsatisfactory grades, etc.) needed for planning your courses.
Suggested/Legal Syllabus policies can help you with policy language for your syllabi. Also helpful are these FAQs on classroom recordings and FERPA.
The Office of Student Accountability & Conflict Resolution’s website contains a number of good resources having to do with university’s policies on academic integrity.
Please remember too that all UNC Charlotte employees, including faculty members, are expected to report any incidents of (a) sexual or interpersonal misconduct or related retaliation or (b) discrimination, discriminatory harassment, or related retaliation they receive to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX. This is very important.
Fall Department Meetings
Meetings will begin at 11:00 and run until 12:30pm. They will be held in the Seminar Room (290B) on these dates:
August 23
September 20
October 18
November 15
December 5 (Department Holiday Party will follow at 1pm)
Let me close by thanking all of you for the excellent work that you have done over the past many years and for the important work that you will be undertaking again this year. What you do hugely matters, now maybe more than ever before. Please know that I intend to do everything I can to make your jobs easier. Do not hesitate to contact me if you are having any problems. Have a great semester!
Kirk