Vázquez Publishes Article

Assistant Professor of Spanish Karina Vázquez has just published the article "Sin pan y sin trabajo: denuncia y resistencia en la novela El trabajo (2007), de Anibal Jarkowski" in the refereed online journal A Contracorriente. Founded in 2003, the journal is "dedicated to Latin American studies that aims to foster intellectual debate about Latin American politics, history, economics, literature and culture."

For a link to the article (in Spanish) from the journal's table of contents, click here: http://www.ncsu.edu/acontracorriente/spring_10/index.htm

Ed Webbley Delivers Keynote

Ed Webbley (BSE-English, 1983; MA, Middlebury College, 1991) delivered the keynote address at the 26th annual New England Young Writer's Conference at the Bread Loaf campus of Middlebury College, where he also taught a poetry writing workshop. Read more about it in the English Language Arts Bulletin of Vermont: http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/pgm_curriculum/literacy/educ_curr_art_ela_bulletin_spring.pdf

Ed taught English in Missouri and Vermont for 23 years before becoming a principal (which he describes as "herding cats.") Ed is currently the principal at Vergennes Union High School in Vermont.

You can reach Ed at ewebbley@anwsu.org

Baby Griffon

Candace (Collins) Stracener (BA-Lit., 2005) and her husband (and fellow MWSU alum) Chad want to share the news that a future EFLJ major is among us. Their newly-arrived son, Mr. Colin Patrick Stracener, will likely be in the class of `31. We look forward to advising him in his choice of major in the department.

Candace plans on completing her Master of Arts in Teaching at Park University this coming December.

Congratulations, Stracener Family!

Spring Semester Faculty Achievements

Here is some of what EFLJ faculty achieved in spring semester, 2010:

Kaye Adkins conducted a series of workshops on "Writing Clear Concise Procedures" for an animal health products company in St. Joseph.

Kaye Adkins' article, "Poster Sessions: Think Outside the Boxes" has been published in the February issue of Intercom, the magazine of the Society for Technical Communication.

Kaye Adkins conducted a series of workshops on "Writing Clear Concise Procedures" for an animal health products company in St. Joseph. This is the second workshop she has conducted for the organization. The workshop was offered through Western Institute.Mike Cadden, Professor of English, presented “Closure and Happiness, Extrapolation and Hope: The Epilogue in Children’s Fantasy Fiction” at the Conference of the International Society for the Study of Narrative in Cleveland, OH, April 11, 2010.

Stacia Bensyl presented her paper, "Untold Stories: Literary Magazines in Japanese American Internment Camps" at the 2010 Japan Studies Association International Conference at Tokai University in Honolulu, Hawai'i on January 8.

Bob Bergland served as the judge for the online/multimedia portion of the Iowa College Press Association contest.

Mike Cadden served as the external reviewer for the Missouri Southern State University Department of English Five-Year Review, Joplin, MO, March 31-April 2, 2010.

Mike Cadden presented “Closure and Happiness, Extrapolation and Hope: The Epilogue in Children’s Fantasy Fiction” at the Conference of the International Society for the Study of Narrative in Cleveland, OH, April 11, 2010.

Jeanie Crain completed a Systems Portfolio appraisal (AQIP) for Central Community College (Nebraska).

Jeanie Crain attended Higher Learning Commission’s Annual Conference and presented "What AQIP Institutions Say about Succession Planning." Paper is published in conference collections, April 10, 2010.

Susan Hennessy organized a lecture (in English) on January 27 by Colonel Brejot, French Army officer at Fort Leavenworth, who spoke on NATO initiatives and the special relationship the U.S. has with the French military in combating terror.

Tom Pankiewicz served on a National Writing Project Site Visit team to the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville on April 10-12, 2010.

Betty Sawin joined James Okapal and Phil Mullins for a panel discussion on January 19 as part of campus celebrations honoring Martin Luther King. The topic of discussion, Civil Discourse in American Society, was suggested by Board member, Mr. Drew Brown.

Betty Sawin gave a presentation about Outdoor Semester 2009 to the MWSU Foundation Board during its meeting on January 27. Dr. Sawin showed the photos she took during the 12-hour Yellowstone National Park tour made possible by a grant from the Foundation. She was joined by Outdoor Semester student Kurt Morrison who spoke about some of his most memorable experiences on the entire 13-day field trip.

Hon at Helm

Congratulations to Dave Hon, who will be the Editor in Chief for the Fall 2010. Dave comes in having served as Editor-in-Chief of his high school paper, The Pirate Clipper in Platte City, and has written for the weekly paper in Platte County. He has been an editor on The Griffon News the past two semesters, and already he has won MCMA awards, picking up a third place in the news writing category and sharing 1st Place honors in the Best Website category with Matthew Fowler. Dave has also given presentations at national conferences, including the Fall National College Media Convention in Kansas City, Journalism and Mass Communication Educators conference in Boston and Convergence and Society Conference in South Carolina.

Dave comes into the position with experience, with excitement, with passion for journalism and with great loyalty to The Griffon News. With Dave and the stellar group of people who have applied for the section editor positions, faculty adviser Dr. Bob Bergland has great confidence that the paper will be able to continue to put out top-notch issues as it did under what Dr. Bergland describes as "Alison's excellent leadership."