This academic year, the English Department welcomes Dr. Maura Grady back to the faculty. Dr. Grady joined the department in 2011 as a full-time faculty member, then served in an administrative position from 2016-2018 as Director of Composition and Director of the University Writing Center, and now returns to a full-time faculty role, which includes directing the Composition Program. Dr. Grady had these thoughts to offer on the invaluable work she has contributed over the past two years.
My job in the English department has recently undergone a transition. From June 2016-August 2018, I served the university in an administrative role with the very long title of Director of the Composition Program and the University Writing Center. Prior to June 2016, these were two separate positions but for various reasons (turnover, transitioning administrative leadership, and a different budget picture), these roles were combined into one position. Recently, the decision was made to re-separate them again since the work required of each has grown and changed so much in recent years. Since I took over as Director, the Writing Center has expanded and updated its services-- we are now serving undergraduate and graduate students, college credit plus students and online students. The writing center is playing an important role in the new Accent on Writing initiative that is entering the pilot stage in Fall 2018. The writing center now has an extensive formal training program for new and continuing WAs and as of January, the Director is joined by an Associate Director and a Part-time Administrative Assistant, along with the most important people in the Center-- the undergraduate peer Writing Assistants and the Graduate Writing Consultants.
The Composition program has also undergone some pretty significant changes since I began serving as its director in January 2016. We now have many more part-time faculty teaching in our program and are offering courses in many more platforms-- traditional online, College Credit Plus high school locations, correctional online, and face-to-face correctional education. The Composition Program consists of four courses-- ENG 100, ENG 110 and ENG 101 (Core) and 102 (Core). Making sure that students receive consistent and competent instruction that provides the transformative educational experience Ashland is known for is my #1 priority. To that end, we want to provide faculty with training and support and to conduct meaningful assessment of our teaching and student learning. The Composition courses can have such a huge impact on student success, since so much of what students are evaluated on comes down to writing skills. In the next year, I'm looking forward to collaborating with others to improve our training and support for faculty teaching Composition and to better coordinate resources for students.
My current research is focused on creating better assessments of student learning so we can determine how to improve our teaching to help more students succeed. I recently completed a thesis for my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction that focuses on our ENG 100 course at Ashland. About 20% of our traditional undergraduate students start in this course, which provides additional writing practice before ENG 101.
In teaching, I'm always trying to help students see how important their own experiences and interests are when they write, even if those don't get direct commentary in their papers. One of my other areas of scholarship is film studies and I've spent the last several years studying the film The Shawshank Redemption and its lasting legacy in Ohio where it was filmed. Starting in 2013, I've involved students in that research and have been fortunate to publish several articles and a book-- The Shawshank Experience: Tracking the History of the World's Favorite Movie-- on the subject. I'm now on the board of the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the historic prison where Shawshank was filmed. Teaching my students the novella, the film and the real history of our local area has been so rewarding and I think it has made me a better teacher. I'm so glad to be returning to the faculty, though it's bittersweet-- I'm going to miss the hustle and bustle of the Writing Center! I'm looking forward to making our Composition program the best it can be so that every Ashland student can become a stronger and more confident writer.
Dr. Grady will be giving a book talk on The Shawshank Experience at Main Street Books in Mansfield, OH on Friday, September 7 from 6:00-7:30 PM, and all are welcome to attend. The English Department is delighted to welcome back to a full-time faculty role such an exceptional scholar, extraordinary teacher, and beloved colleague.
