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English Department Traditions Professorship

An anonymous donor has given money for a teaching award in the English Department. The department will receive a quarter of distributed income from a gift that would yield about $2,200 per year, to fund "an annual faculty award of excellence for teaching the fundamentals of the traditional canon."

On top of normal reassignment time, the Traditions Fellow will have one additional course release during the year of the award to be dedicated to a project that would enhance teaching of the traditional canon.  Guidelines for submission and criteria follow.

Full-time faculty with the rank of assistant professor or above may apply. The individual selected must have an interest in traditional canonical works and evidence of excellence in teaching them.  Successful applicants should also be committed to a project during the award year that would further support teaching excellence of canonical works.   Preference will be given to individuals who describe ways to enhance active learning in WKU’s English Department.

An application for the Traditions Professorship consists of a one-page memo outlining the teacher’s evidence of excellent teaching in the traditional canon (with the evidence itself as an attachment) and a one-page proposal for the award-year project. In these two documents, applicants should 

• Show how the project fits their teaching agenda
• Give a time frame for completing project and plans for dissemination
• Describe in what ways the project will benefit students
• Describe in what ways the project will enhance their teaching skills
• Provide a brief description of the proposed project
• Describe their rationale for conducting the project
• Describe a plan for public presentation or dissemination of the project results

The selection and oversight committee will consist of the Department Head, Composition Director, Graduate Advisor, and Undergraduate Advisors with expertise relevant to the candidates in the pool.  The Department Head in consultation with the Executive Committee will select committee replacements if members apply for the fellowship.  

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English Department Wood Professorship

This honor was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Willson Wood, who served for many years as department head.  The designated Wood Professor has a load reduction of one course per semester in addition to other reassignments and receives $1500 for research/research assistant/travel expenses.  All full-time faculty with the rank of assistant professor or above may apply.  Dr. Wood's intention is to support "worthwhile research, writing for publication, or engaging in some other scholarly activity.”  Thus, to be selected, an individual must have an ongoing research or creative project.  Traditional literary scholarship is encouraged, but projects in linguistics, creative writing, professional writing, composition and rhetoric, theory, pedagogy, or any other area of English are also eligible.  Consideration will be given to the applicant's ability to conduct a scholarly or creative project and bring it to a successful conclusion.

An application for the Wood Professorship consists of a one-page, double-spaced abstract of the proposed project and a one-page cover letter stating how the professorship could aid the individual in completing the project.  Following Dr. Wood's suggestion, the selection and oversight committee will consist of the Department Head, Composition Director, Graduate Advisor, and Undergraduate Advisors with expertise relevant to the candidates in the pool.  The Department Head in consultation with the Executive Committee will select committee replacements if members apply for the fellowship.