Describes curriculum review at the State University of New York, Oswego, where faculty and administrators tried to develop an English major that would preserve the best traditional practices and institutionalize innovation. Concludes that curriculum revision would not have moved forward without the Modern Language Association-Fund for the…

Contains a scripted interchange between three caricatures (the zealous reformer, the harried committee chair, and the skeptical administrator) concerning a project for curriculum reform in a college English department. (TB)

Examines the formal and informal (noninstitutionalized) leadership roles of teachers, new and veteran, in a successful high school English department. Provides sketches of teachers in the department and then discusses some leadership issues. (TB)

Reviews the growth of business and technical communication courses as college courses in universities. Documents the move to "professional" communication in English departments. Explains why technical communication dominates "professional" communication. Argues that faculty who teach business communication in business schools…

Considers how in most small undergraduate English departments the people in a department are its curricular future. Suggests that a department would do well to examine itself as a sociological community. Describes how the catalyst for change in Dickinson College's English department was the increasing pressure from the college's faculty personnel…

Describes the Modern Language Association (MLA) teacher education project. Hopes that the departments participating in the project would develop different exemplary programs appropriate to their departmental and institutional missions, faculty commitments, student needs, and state and local requirements concerning the preparation of secondary…

Suggests that the ideal relationship between the writing center and an English department's writing program is almost symbiotic, each benefiting the other and both forwarding writing as a powerful tool for writing. Describes the writing centers at Montana State University and University of Nevada, Reno. (RS)

Studies informally the writing centers at three Cleveland area universities. Concludes that writing centers should not be promoted as remedial centers, that attendance should be voluntary, and that there should be at least a small professional staff. Argues that the "damaged path" between the English department and the writing center can…

States that an important part of the ethos interviewees present in MLA job interviews is their enthusiasm for, commitment to, and knowledge of teaching. Advises interviewees to show their passion for teaching; to say why teaching is important, not just interesting; and to remember that teaching is not just performance but design. (PA)

Relates some of the author's experiences in hiring new instructors as chair of the English department at Western Washington University. States that hiring is basically a year-round job. Discusses how position descriptions are written, thoughts on affirmative action, and the importance of organization and maintaining a timetable. Presents some…

Discusses ways to seek financial resources for a department. Outlines ways to obtain the assistance of faculty, students, entrepreneurial divisions of the school, and other departments. (PRA)

Discusses a fundamental desire of many literature teachers: "teaching out," meaning the hope of imparting to students the fact that words and forms and images have a peculiar power to explain and move. Describes a variety of possible ways by which English teachers might succeed at "teaching out," including community education…

Notes that many scholars see Gerald Graff as a revolutionary critic who provides a model for making fundamental changes within the discipline of English. Focuses on the historical marginalization of the fields of composition and rhetoric studies not addressed by Graff in his book "Professing Literature." (RS)

Provides a working definition for assessment as it relates to higher education. Contrasts what assessment should be with what it should not be. Gives several suggestions for administrators just beginning assessment activities. (HB)

Recounts the process and narrates the steps taken by the English department at Ursinus College, Pennsylvania, in its major renovation of its outdated English curriculum. Describes the working conditions of the department and the newly devised curriculum. (HB)