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President Pledges Support for Liberal Arts During State of the University Address
English and History departments identified as strategic priorities
AUSTIN, Texas -Sept. 19, 2007- President William Powers Jr. identified the College of Liberal Arts' Department of English as a strategic priority in his annual State of the University Address.
"No comprehensive university can be great without stellar programs in the humanities and social sciences, and we need to nurture them," he said.
English joins the Department of History in Powers' vision to strengthen areas of excellence at the university. In 2006, Powers empowered the History Department with $1.3 million in recurring funds to support research and teaching. The new funding initiatives for English, which will be announced later this semester, will help the nationally recognized program provide more support for its faculty and students.
During his address, Powers underscored the importance of strengthening the leadership of academic departments and research units, which he called "the building blocks of a great university."
The Department of English has 76 faculty members who welcome 1,255 undergraduates and 163 graduate students into their classrooms, where the next generation of writers and leaders benefit from the innovative teaching methods of the program's nationally recognized researchers and authors.
This year, U.S. News and World Report ranked the English graduate program 19th in the nation. The department also offers a doctoral program with 11 concentrations and a master's program in creative writing. Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, an internationally renowned expert on W.B. Yeats and modern Irish literature, serves as the department chair.
"Under the highly capable leadership of Liz Cullingford, the English department developed an ambitious yet realistic strategic plan for reaching the top tier of excellence," Randy Diehl, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said. "The President's initiative, together with funds committed by the College of Liberal Arts, will help the department realize their exciting--and achievable--goals."'
The World's Literature
Researchers specialize in 18th and 19th-century British literature; American literature; bibliography and textual studies; comparative literature; computers and English; creative writing; cultural studies; Renaissance drama; 19th and 20th-century European drama; ethnic and third-world literature; language and linguistics; literary theory; Medieval studies; modern British literature; poetry and poetics; popular culture; rhetoric; and women's literature.
Faculty Excellence
Each year, faculty members earn a range of prestigious honors and awards. This year, A. Van Jordan earned a Guggenheim fellowship for poetry, Marjorie Woods received the Rome Prize for Renaissance research, Janine Barchas earned a fellowship from the American Council for Learned Societies, and Evan Carton won the Hamilton Book Award for "Patriotic Treason: John Brown and the Soul of America." Professors Thomas Cable, Neville Hoad and Helena Woodard earned 2006-07 Presidents Associates' Teaching Excellence Awards.
Acclaimed Authors
Recent faculty publications include: "White Liberal Identity" by Phillip Barrish, "Muting White Noise" by James Cox, "Literary Austin" by Don Graham, "African Intimacies" by Neville Hoad, "Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard" by James Loehlin, "A History of the Book in America: Vol. III," by Michael Winship, "Asterisks," a collection of poems, by David Wevill, and "The Structures Minds Erect" by Thomas Whitbread.
A Financial Vote of Confidence
This month, the department received one of the largest gifts in its history. Robert W. and Maureen H. Decherd (BA '73) donated $1 million to create the "Maureen Healy Decherd '73 Teaching Endowment for English." The endowment supports a stipend for non-tenured faculty and doctorate candidates engaged in teaching activities related to literature, American society or U.S. media.
Out of the Classroom and Into the Community
The English department supports several special programs, including Shakespeare at Winedale, Actors from the London Stage and the Oxford Summer Program. Faculty members host a variety of international conferences and literary events, including this year's James Joyce Conference and a reading by the Welsh winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize, Rachel Tresize.
Contact:
Elizabeth Butler Cullingford
Chair, Department of English
512-471-4991
cullingford@mail.utexas.edu
Jennifer McAndrew
Public Affairs Specialist, College of Liberal Arts
512-232-4730
jennifer.mcandrew@mail.utexas.edu