English Department Faculty Member Completes Certification

From the AU News Center

6/22/18 ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland University’s Sharleen Mondal, associate professor of English, recently completed a certification to become a master coach for the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD).

Mondal works with the AU Research and Writing Community (AURWC) on campus, a group she first created and then piloted in fall of 2013 with one faculty small group. Since then, the program has grown to include four-to-five faculty small groups and two-to-three coaches every semester. Also, a student version for College of Arts and Sciences students working on long-term writing projects was piloted in the fall of 2015 and has continued each semester since.

“After directing and small group coaching for the AURWC, I longed to grow my skills and to be part of a broader, national community of people pursuing the same kind of faculty development aims as me,” Mondal said. “There are many faculty development organizations to choose from, with countless online webinars and modules on a large list of subjects, but the NCFDD is different.”

Mondal said the mission of the NCFDD is to give faculty the tools to change their lives, change their campuses and change their world.

“This involves training faculty to use empirically proven techniques to increase their scholarly productivity and improve their work/life balance; both of these are necessary for faculty to thrive in the profession, to be retained by their institutions, and to enrich their institutions and broader communities,” she said. “The NCFDD is centrally focused on holding space open for each individual’s personal transformation, honoring each member’s unique journey, and this is apparent in its Faculty Success Program (FSP) structure.”

Mondal explained that this summer she received an invitation to apply to become a Master Coach with NCFDD.

“Master Coaches are a select group of faculty who are available for one-on-one appointments, each half an hour, with current FSP participants who seek additional assistance beyond what they are receiving in their small group. This level of work requires specific training on how to provide assistance to people who are often struggling with serious challenges at their institutions and professional lives,” she said. “I attended the Master Coach training at NCFDD headquarters in Detroit from June 14-15, during which I worked with my fellow coaches and the core team to expand my repertoire of coaching skills, including very specific techniques for helping faculty feel heard and guiding them to be able to see possibilities in their situation that they were not able to see before.

“If I were to sum up what master coaching is about, it would be this: to affirm to each faculty member their fundamental worth and value, regardless of their personal and institutional circumstances, and to walk with them through their situation with compassion and insight toward discovering a range of possibilities that will help them to achieve their highest good.”

Mondal said that in 2017 she applied to become an FSP coach and began coaching one FSP small group in the fall of 2017. “I coached another FSP small group in spring of 2018 and am currently coaching three small groups for the summer. The training I received to become a small group coach, and regular interaction with a community of other coaches under our head coach, has been phenomenal and has kept me constantly growing as a coach in a way I could not have in isolation,” she said.

Mondal is excited because AU will be hosting an NCFDD workshop at its Faculty College this fall.

“Faculty members can contact Shawn Orr for the date and time of the workshop. It is important that AU faculty connect what I'm saying about NCFDD to knowing that that organization will have a presence on campus to which they are invited,” she said. “One thing the AURWC has taken from NCFDD’s core values is that faculty members are most useful to AU when they are being honored as whole people with fulfilling personal and professional lives.”

Inspired by her experience in the NCFDD, Mondal worked with NCFDD President Kerry Ann Rockquemore under an AU Professional Discipline and Experience Grant in the spring of 2013 to create the AU Research and Writing Community and her work received strong support from Dr. Dawn Weber, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The main website for the organization is https://www.facultydiversity.org/ and the impressive list of coaches can be found at https://www.facultydiversity.org/meet-our-coaches.

Creative Writing Capstone Award Winner Reflects on His Progress through the Major

By Jakob Demers, class of 2018, Creative Writing and English major

Receiving the Creative Writing Award for Outstanding Capstone was, and still is, an incredibly surreal experience for me.

When I first arrived at Ashland University four years ago, I knew two things for certain: I was going to major in Creative Writing, and I had no idea how to function in a college setting. Apart from the usual high school to university transition, Ashland was my first time in an actual brick-and-mortar school building. My first semester was a blur of finding my footing and choosing the easiest way to go about things.

Sophomore year was when my capstone first came into being, starting out as an extended project for the Fiction/Nonfiction Workshop. Looking at my first attempts from then to what I had even last year is a testament to how far I’ve come as a writer. My initial chicken-scratch, while roughly the same plot, has not seen the light of day for a reason. It’s a befuddling mixture of tension between a story idea and its characters, trying to do too much and so achieving nothing.

Junior year was an exercise mainly in my English double-major, and in that sense it was incredibly rewarding. I feel certain that it contributed to the evolution of my writing when I returned to my capstone for senior year. The more academic approach to writing (and the parts any single piece consists of) once again changed my thinking and challenged my conception of writing, creatively or otherwise. Suddenly every work had an intentional (and often an unintentional) meaning woven throughout concerns of plot and character. Every segment seemed to have been carefully chosen and stitched together, a removal from my usual process of “winging it.”

When, in my senior year, I revised and examined my capstone yet again, I felt myself approaching understanding of my piece. I finally knew enough to negotiate between my own flaws as a writer and what my story wanted to explore. As my story took shape, I could rely a bit more on my characters and a bit less on whatever humor I’d been stringing myself along with for the first few drafts. For the first time, I felt certain that I could call myself a writer without hesitation, because I not only enjoyed writing but understood at least some of what went into making it.

I would say the most valuable thing to come out of my capstone is that I know where I have yet to fix. For my next set of revisions, at least, there are plot lines to move forward, characters to spend more time with, and relationships to untangle and streamline. I can already see it shifting into something that, Lord willing, is approaching its best version. Obviously this means I’ll be completely rewriting it within a year when I decide it’s all wrong. I’m being glib, but really even that is an exciting part of the process.

To borrow a half-remembered idiom: the journey to the mountain is just as impressive as the mountain itself.

English Alumni and Faculty Remember Jim Reynolds

The following memories of Jim Reynolds, Professor Emeritus of English, were shared with me. These reminiscences honor this great educator and colleague after his recent passing. There will be a celebration of his life in AU's Hugo Young Theatre on Sunday, June 10, at 1:00 p.m.

Doreen (Bell) Zudell, class of 1983, a Creative Writing and Journalism major writes,"I had Mr. Reynolds for Shakespeare class in the early 1980s. I remember how he walked us through the scenes and helped us understand what the characters were saying. He was passionate about his teaching; kind and patient with his students.Thank you, Mr. Reynolds, for nurturing students’ love for literature and theatre!"

Linda Werman Brawner, class of 1978, a Creative Writing major, shares how Mr. Reynolds's feedback on her writing encouraged her: "I took an essay course from him. I enjoyed his class because the criticism wasn't as sharp as in other writing classes. It was good and valid, but not acidic. On one of my papers he wrote something about 'your tone of gentle strength.' He pointed out something I didn't realize I had. That one small comment has shaped my entire life." 

Dr. Deborah Fleming, Professor of English, shares her memories of Mr. Reynolds as a colleague: "I remember Jim Reynolds as someone always easy to work with, never had a bad word to say, mild-mannered, kept to himself, but friendly. He tried some very experimental things with his plays. My favorite one of his was "The Cherry Orchard." I went to all the plays directed by him (as well as the other directors) in those days."

The following reflection is from Dr. Russell Weaver, Professor of English:

Jim was my first real friend in the English Department. He was on the search committee when I was hired, and I remember that he barely said anything at the lunch where I was interviewed. However, once we settled into our routines, we started running into each other because our offices were one door from one another. Once we started chatting, I found that, even though we approached teaching differently, he seemed to understand intuitively what I was doing, and we spent a lot of time discussing what was happening in our classes and especially about our reaction to our students' writing. But what really sparked our friendship was when I discovered his involvement in the theatrical productions at then Ashland College.

My wife and I began attending the college productions which provided an endless source of fascinating discussions with Jim. It was always very instructive to talk over the plays I had seen, whether those at the college or elsewhere. He had, needless to say, a broad knowledge of theater, and he also had incredibly high standards and very specific things he wanted from a performance. His critiques of productions were hilarious as he was, despite the taciturnity he displayed on our first meeting, uninhibited in expressing his feelings about everything. Discussing the plays he was preparing for production was initially a daunting proposition due to the gloom that settled over him once he was in the midst of rehearsal. One thing you could always count on was that, whenever Jim was directing a play, it was clear that the end of world was imminent and all hope for meaning was irretrievably lost. And Jim wasn't kidding. Somehow, the apocalypse was usually averted, although, after the play was over, there was still no joy in Mudville.

He suffered over everything that was not perfect. Jim was at one with Alec Guiness who, when asked which role that he had played was was his favorite, said, "I wished to hell I'd never done any of them." I remember one play that we saw after he had retired in which it was difficult to understand what the actors were saying. He said that the first step he always took as director once the actors had learned their lines was to stand in the back of the hall and yell, "What? What? What?" For many years after his retirement, most of our conversations took place at Hawkins Grocery Store. We would tend to meet in the meat department and spend an hour or so catching up, discussing the plays he had seen at AU or elsewhere. No matter how long it had been since we had talked, it was as though no time had passed. We just picked up where we had left off. He was truly a great guy, and he will be sorely missed.

Alumni Update: Erika Gallion

Gallion with partner, Hans Velasquez

By Erika Gallion, Class of 2014, Creative Writing and English major

This morning, I drove through Beverly Hills to get to my office. Yesterday, I went to see Viet Thanh Nguyen give a reading at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. Tomorrow I’ll watch the sun set from atop The Griffith Observatory. And I can trace all of this joy and success to my undergraduate start at Ashland University.

This January, I relocated to Los Angeles, California, for a new job at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)—I accepted an administrative position as an Academic Advisor within the Fielding School of Public Health. I started my journey in higher education as an undergraduate student at Ashland University, an intimidated first-generation student excited and anxious to begin taking English and Creative Writing courses. Academia scared me, and I felt a deep sense of imposter syndrome being on campus. Ashland University’s English faculty, however, soon made me feel not only welcomed, but also competent. Intelligent. Important. I felt heard in my classrooms, and discovered an atmosphere that encouraged deep learning. My love for literature and creating increased daily throughout my four years there.

Upon graduating, I began a two-year graduate program at Kent State University in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs. I wanted (and still want) to pursue a doctoral program in English, but found that I enjoyed and wanted more experience in administrative work within the university system. I was especially interested in working with Study Abroad programs and International Student Services, and Kent State’s program offered a certificate in Internationalization as well as a master’s degree. I excelled in my academic pursuits during this graduate program; while my cohort struggled to write lengthy papers and felt intimidated by class discussion, I felt totally adequate and successful. I attribute this success entirely to my education at Ashland University within the English department; I learned what critical thinking meant in Bixler Hall, and have carried these lessons with me into my professional life.

For two years, I worked in Jacksonville, Florida as a Study Abroad Advisor at the University of North Florida. Here, thanks to my administrative perk of tuition remission, I was able to begin another master’s program in Literature. I took a James Joyce Seminar along with an Early American Literature course—again, I felt intimidated and excited to begin this graduate work in the subject I still craved and adored. And, again, I excelled. I thrived back in a classroom environment that again enabled critical thinking and discussion.

My partner and I moved to Los Angeles for his career (as a film editor). Luckily, I found this wonderful position at UCLA. Here I get to assist graduate students in event planning, applying for the program, registering for classes, and more. I work closely with faculty and guest lecturers, and am heavily involved with the day-to-day comings and goings of the university. It’s humbling to be on this campus daily—to see palm trees along the streets and feel 75 degree weather every day. I love my work, and I love having such easy access to higher education. I have also began freelance writing for an online magazine, and have been consistently writing and submitting my creative work. The literary scene in Los Angeles is very active, and I’ve taken advantage of meeting many writers (Elif Batuman, Melissa Broder, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Ramona Ausubel, etc.), and has enabled me to stay active in the literary world.

I still hope to begin a doctoral program in English—my dream (as it has been since my English Comp 102 class with Dr. Linda Joyce Brown and my Intro to Creative Writing class with Dr. Joe Mackall) is to dive deeper into this subject, and to teach—to share it with students who pursue and are curious of the same passions. I am incredibly proud of my journey, and thank Ashland University for giving me not only my confidence, but my joy.

Taking Screenwriting: Learning How to Write a Movie or Learning Valuable Undergraduate Lessons?

By Liz Bucci, Integrated Language Arts major

One of the questions on the end of the year course evaluation for ENG 303, also known as the Screenwriting Workshop, was something along the lines of “how did the professor provide a good learning environment?” This question made me think back to the first day of Screenwriting. I was nervous. “We have to write a MOVIE?” I asked in shock. I was only taking the class as a substitution in order to graduate, but it turned into something much more than that. 

With only a few English courses left to take in my undergraduate career I was not exactly stoked about taking screenwriting. Before the class started, I didn’t even know what a screenplay was, but the first day Dr. Grady assured the wary class that we would take things slowly and learn things step by step. It wouldn’t be as awful as we thought, she assured us. And it wasn’t. Screenwriting, a class that I was never meant to take, ended up being my favorite class that I took my junior year. The class was pretty diverse as far as who was taking it; some English majors, some creative writing majors, some Integrated Language Arts majors, people who had read screenplays often for fun, and people who had never read a screenplay before in their life. Dr. Grady understood that we were all in different places when we started the class, and by recognizing this, she took off a lot of pressure from the course. There was no talk of “the perfect screenplay.” We read screenplays, watched clips of screenplays, talked about screenplays, and wrote random pieces of dialog we hoped to incorporate into our future screenplays. We basically started by doing everything we could do that pertained to screenplays without writing a screenplay. She wanted us to work hard and have good conversations—something most professors want, but not something all professors vocalize. 

After the class had a good grasp on what exactly a screenplay was, then we finally did it on our own. Taking the course with Dr. Grady was such a privilege because not only did I learn how to write a screenplay, but I also learned that it’s good to try out new things that might relate to your major but aren’t necessarily required. I was terrified on the first day of screenwriting. I thought the chances of me succeeding in the class were slim to none. Now when I look back at the class I realize that the classes that terrify you the most are often the ones you learn the most from. Now when I watch movies I look at them in an academic way and enjoy them in a much more substantial way. I never expected a workshop to impact the way I look at any aspect of my life, but because I was invested in the class it truly did change the way I look at things. 

The biggest piece of advice I will give to anyone who is taking a class that they are terrified of or to anyone who is taking a class who thinks it’s a waste of their time is: just give it a chance. Invest time and effort, even when the end product seems far away or even hopeless. Trust the process and trust that no matter what you will always learn at least one thing, whether it be a life lesson or it be purely academic, from each class you take. I’m looking at my senior year schedule and I’m realizing I only have one English class left to take. Whether it be a creative writing class, composition class, etc., don’t let your classes go by without learning from each and every one of them. Each class has a valuable lesson waiting for you to learn it.

Screenwriting Class Gives Future Teacher Ideas for the Classroom

English 303: Screenwriting, Spring 2018

By Corinne Spisz, Integrated Language Arts major

English 303: Screenwriting Workshop was an interesting and fun experience. As an Integrated Language Arts Education major, and having taught creative writing in a middle school last spring, I was curious to see how this class would go. Having only taught poetry and short story writing, I was not aware of the screenwriting genre; in fact I never read a screenplay before this class. There were several ILA majors in the class, and I think we were all a bit nervous since we never saw a screenplay, let alone wrote one.

Dr. Grady began the class by walking us through how to format a screenplay and the different movie genres, to familiarize us with the forms in which we could write. After going through the action-adventure and thriller genres I knew that I wanted to write an action-adventure-thriller film.

After deciding on a genre, I knew that I wanted to do something James Bond-esque, but instead of a single agent, have a team, a CIA agent and an MI6 agent. I also wanted a strong female character in an action movie that also focused on character development.

We had to write as close to a full-length movie as possible. I ended up binge writing my movie throughout the semester and ended with a 93-page script, titled Retribution Informant. The class workshopped our scripts all throughout the semester in class and in small group workshops.

In the middle of the semester we had a guest speaker, screenwriter and film director, Robby Henson. Robby Henson talked to our class about the rewards and struggles of screenwriting and directing, showed us clips about his new documentary I Come From, and showed clips from the other film projects he wrote and directed.

For our final, we had to give a movie pitch, a two to three-minute talk about what are movie is about, how it is new/fresh, and what the intended audience is. We had a guest professor, Robert Sean Parker, an AU theater faculty member and actor. Professor Parker listened to our pitches and Dr. Grady and Professor Parker gave each of us feedback.

This class gave me a new insight on a different mode of creative writing. I had so much fun writing and discussing our own movie scripts. I decided that if I end of teaching creative writing at a high school I want to add either a screenwriting unit or a screenwriting/film class to the ELA curriculum.