Master of Arts in Writing Symposium Begins Tonight
 
The first of three-straight evenings of Master of Arts in Writing Symposium presentations takes place tonight (May 7) starting at 6:30 p.m. in Room 144 of the Chamberlain Student Center. This year’s collection of 14 graduate program capstone projects includes works in such genres as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s writing, scholarship, and musical theater. Click here for more information or contact M.A. Program Coordinator Ron Block. Light refreshments will be served.
 
The Time for Pomp and Circumstance Draws Near
Rowan University Graduation Week begins this Saturday, May 11, with the full university commencement ceremony kicking off at 5 p.m. at Wackar Stadium. This year’s commencement speaker for the pan-collegiate ceremony is internationally recognized fitness guru Shaun T (Shaun Thompson Blokker, left), a 2001 Rowan Health and Exercise Science graduate from Camden. During the event, one graduating student in attendance will receive $5,000 in a random drawing and will have a chance to win $50,000. The Saturday ceremony will be followed by the Commencement Coast Celebration on the nearby Robinson Green. The celebration will feature the free Coastal Café buffet and dessert bar, a beer and wine cash bar, live music, games, and numerous photo opportunities. . . . Four days later, the festivities continue with the College of Communication and Creative Arts commencement on Wednesday, May 15 at 10 a.m. on Bunce Green. This is the ceremony at which Writing Arts students receiving their B.A. and M.A. degrees will have their names called and will walk across the stage to receive their diploma binders. The featured speaker for our college ceremony will be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and current MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee, a 2003 Rowan Journalism graduate from Chesilhurst. Please keep in mind: Faculty who wish to march in the processional and sit on the main stage for either the full university ceremony or the CCCA ceremony must be in full academic regalia.
 
Grades and Assessments Due Next Friday the 17th
Don’t forget that all Spring 2019 grades must be submitted on Self-Service Banner by the end of the business day on Friday, May 17. Please note the faculty grading interface has been updated and looks slightly different. Click here for detailed instructions on how to enter your grades. That same Friday the 17th also is the deadline for College Composition II assessments. If you taught CCII this spring, you should have received links to your course assessment forms from Jeffrey Bonfield; if you haven’t, please contact Jeff right away.
 
End-of-Year Department Retreat Set for the 23rd
Less than a week after grades are due, we’ll all be back together at The Vic for our end-of-the-year Writing Arts Department Retreat. The Thursday, May 23 session will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Victoria 200 and, as usual, will include a full day of updates, presentations, and workshops. Lunch will be served, and the retreat will be followed by an end-of-the-year reception at The Landmark. An agenda for the retreat will be circulated soon and you can contact Jenn Courtney for more information or to suggest discussion topics. Please contact me for more information about the Landmark reception.
 
Please Vote on Dates for This Year’s Phillies Game
Despite a 6-0 loss to the Cardinals last night, the Phillies remain in first place in the National League East and continue to see their ticket sales surge. That’s why we’re working to narrow down our choices for this year’s “Rowan Writing Arts Night at the Phillies” and to purchase our discounted tickets as soon as we can. The nine dates under consideration are Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, June 10, 11, or 12 vs. the Diamondbacks; Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, June 24, 25, or 26 vs. the Mets; or Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, July 15, 16, or 17 vs. the Dodgers. Please fill out this Doodle Poll and let us know all of the dates that work for you and how many friends and family members you’d like to bring. We need at least 25 attendees to get a $4 per ticket discount in our preferred seating area: Section 330. Please contact me with any questions. We had a great time last year and look forward to another excellent evening in 2019!
 
Congratulations Anna On Your Service Award!
Anna Bassiri is this year’s Writing Arts Department winner of the College of Communication and Creative Arts Excellence in Service Award. The award, as described by Dean Tweedie in his announcement, recognizes “often unseen efforts by faculty who help support their programs with ongoing, uncompensated, day-to-day service.” In addition to this recognition, Anna will receive $250 for the 2019-2020 academic year in professional development funding that can be used for travel, books, materials, or other classroom-related purchases. The other CCCA winners are Herb Appelson in Art; Dianne Garyantes in Journalism; Alison Novak in Public Relations & Advertising; Clara Popa in Communications Studies; and Chris Winkler in Radio, Television, & Film.
 
Random House Buys Rights to Lisa Jahn-Clough Book
The Schwartz and Wade children’s book imprint – part of international publisher Penguin Random House – has purchased the Lisa Jahn-Clough book Strange Stories: About Nice Kids, Naughty Kids, Happy Kids, Sad Kids, Magic Kids, Magic Toys, Spooky Ghosts, Yummy Waffles, Silly Monkeys, and Other Such Things with publication scheduled for summer 2021. The book is a collection of short stories about children who escape situations of poverty, bullying, and loneliness through magical happenings. Publisher’s Weekly reports that Lisa represented herself in this deal for world rights. Nice work, Lisa!
 
And furthermore . . .

• Colleague Keri Mikulski – writing under one of her several pennames (Keri Kelly) – had her latest humor article “The Shady Hills Youth Soccer Club's U-8 Girls Team is Not Meant to Be Fun,” published on the Points in Case website. Click here to check it out.
• The Writing Arts Club and its newly redesigned website were featured in a recent article in the Rowan student newspaper The Whit. You can read it here.

 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek, M.A.
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

​Impact100 South Jersey and Community Foundation of South Jersey are seeking a Marketing and/or Public Relations Intern, who is full of creative ideas and eager to  contribute on a large scale. The intern will gain visibility into the inner workings and aspects of the marketing and public relations fields, provide concrete deliverables and  learn from top to bottom.

Responsibilities

• Support the organization’s marketing/PR strategy and execute it in different phases
• Create and curate engaging content
• Assist with updating electronic email data
• Communicate and build relationships with current or prospective members
• Effectively utilize social media
• Create and distribute press releases
• Update media lists and databases
• Schedule, coordinate and attend various events
• Help develop an e-marketing strategy and train others how to maintain it.
• Perform research and market analysis activities.

Requirements

• Strong desire to learn along with professional drive
• Solid understanding of the different social networks
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Comfortable with computers and online applications
• Passion for the PR industry and its best practices
• Current enrollment in a related BS or Masters university/college

Contact: 

Kyle Ruffin
kyle@kruffin.com
609-980-6651
​
Ellen Ragone
eragone@wglaw.com
609.410.2640

​Today and This Week: Singularity Press Book Sale!
 
The final book sale of the semester to benefit the Writing Arts Department’s student-run startup Singularity Press is being held today, tomorrow, and Thursday (April 23, 24, and 25) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the first-floor elevator lobby of Victoria Hall (260 Victoria Street). Stop by to search for that hard-to-find book you’ve been yearning for, or feel free to pick through the stacks to pique your interest. Both cash and Venmo payments are accepted, as are straight-up donations to the Press. Contact Megan Atwood for more information.
 
Special Report
Writing Center Shows Age Can Be A Fascinating Number
 
When most young adults go to college, they don’t normally make friends who are 10 years younger or 70 years older than them.
 
That is, unless they work at the Rowan Writing Center.
 
The RWC – a branch of the Writing Arts Department that offers writing tutoring services to students across the campus – has, since last fall, been running community outreach programs with clients at opposite ends of the lifespan spectrum: An elementary school class and a senior citizen assisted living facility.
 
Writing Arts assistant professor Celeste Del Russo, director of the Writing Center, set up writing workshop programs at the two institutions – The Terraces at Parke Place senior facility in Sewell and the Thomas E. Bowe Elementary School in Glassboro – as a life experience for her tutors.
 
“These programs,” Celeste said, “keep our tutors connected to the community and to the real world. The work we’re doing with the seniors and with the school kids is more than just a service activity line on a resume. It keeps them grounded and connected and helps them grow as individuals.”
 
“Peggie is my friend,” 22-year-old Laura Kincaid, a three-year Writing Center veteran, said of her 91-year-old writing partner at the Terraces. “She’s a fascinating woman. She was sickly as a child and grew up in a hospital. By age 16, she was working in a gas station. Peggie was a journalist and a writer and still considers herself an ‘avid proofreader.’
 
“I truly enjoy the time I spend with her,” Laura said. “We exchange email and I still visit her from time to time.”
 
At the Terraces, the goal for RWC tutors is to “capture the moment, to get these life stories chronicled,” Celeste said, explaining that many of these experiences might be lost forever if not for this project.
 
While the program at the Terraces was designed to coincide with National Assisted Living Week back in September, Celeste said the RWC has shifted its focus to celebrate National Poetry Month in April. “We want our tutors to help the seniors turn their memories into poetry.”
 
At the Bowe school, the Writing Center tutors are working with gifted and talented students in grades four through six, concentrating on the “Girls Will Be Girls” writing group.
 
“We want these young students to build confidence in their writing,” Celeste said. “By putting their work on display, they see their writing has value and is appreciated by others.”
 
Writing that has value and is appreciated by others: These goals are being achieved by 11-year-olds and 91-year-olds with the guidance and assistance of the Rowan Writing Center and the Writing Arts Department . . . proof of the importance of what we do every day – both inside and outside our classrooms.
 
It’s Time to Order and Administer Your Student Evaluations
 
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to order “Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness” surveys for each of your classes this semester. In addition to providing you with feedback on your pedagogical performance this spring, you will need these Evaluations for your upcoming recontracting packet. While students can complete these surveys on their own time, it is strongly recommended you dedicate time during class for students to fill out the evaluation, leaving them alone in the class as they do so. Click here for more information on how to order the evaluations, instruct your students on how to access the survey, and send reminders to students who might not have yet completed the form. For more information, contact Natalie Kautz at the Faculty Center.
 
Department Diversity Council Focuses on Equity, Inclusion
 
The Writing Arts Diversity Council – formed earlier this semester – is hard at work on many exciting projects to attend to diversity-related needs in the department and to work toward increasing equity and inclusion for faculty, staff, and students. Following an informal listening tour, the 20 council members have taken up subcommittee work on staffing, professional development, student concerns, and curriculum. Projects include production of a faculty fact sheet on the characteristics of the Rowan student body, assessing needs and opportunities related to race and adjunct faculty, adding diversity-related resources to the Instructor Support Site for the First Year Writing Program, and partnering with the Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution for professional development. The passion and dedication of the Writing Arts Diversity Council is inspiring and offers great hope for our department’s continued and growing excellence. (Editor’s Note: Thank you to colleague Rachael Shapiro for this update,. Please contact her for more information on the council, to discuss its initiatives, and to volunteer to serve in the fall semester.)
 
CCII Textbook Grant Helps Students Save Significantly
 
Congratulations to Writing Arts colleagues Jude Miller and Amanda Haruch who – along with Sam Kennedy from the Campbell Library staff – received a Textbook Alternative Program Grant that will enable the department to replace our College Composition II textbooks with Open Educational Resources. It’s estimated this switch will save Rowan students somewhere between $100,000 and $166,000 per year. In addition to the cost savings, Jude said the grant will “further promote accessibility, inclusion, and affordability” throughout all sections of CCII and “will also afford us the space to more purposefully curate readings and course materials from diverse voices.” Great work, Jude and Amanda! You are saving our students money and upgrading our teaching materials at the same time.
 
WA Student to Have Nonfiction Piece Published
 
Writing Arts student Jackie Domenus will have her personal essay “Tomboy” published in the nonfiction section of an upcoming edition of Watershed Review literary magazine, a publication of the University of California at Chico. Launched in 2012, Watershed Review reports its mission as being “to publish literature and visual art that illustrates diversity in thought and experience, and an awareness of literary tradition in conversation with the shifting edges of genre.
 
. . . and a Few More Upcoming Activities and Events
 

• Saturday, May 4: The annual Student Showcase & Awards Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in Pfleeger Concert Hall in Wilson Hall. (Note the change of venue this year from the Chamberlain Center Ballroom.) Stellar examples of student work will be on display and an array of end-of-the-academic-year awards and scholarships will be announced and presented. Contact Gina DiBartolo for more details.
• Saturday, May 11: University Graduation will be held at 5 p.m. in Wackar Stadium followed by the Commencement Coast Celebration in the nearby Robinson Green on North Campus Drive. Faculty who wish to march in the processional and sit on the main stage must be in full academic regalia. Click here to RSVP for the event. Our university commencement speaker this year will be nationally recognized fitness guru Shaun T (Shaun Thompson Blokker), a 2001 Rowan graduate from Camden.
• Wednesday, May 15: CCCA Graduation will be held at 10 a.m. on Bunce Green. Again, faculty must be in full regalia to participate. The featured speaker for our college ceremony will be Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and current MSNBC correspondent Trymaine Lee, a 2003 Rowan grad from Chesilhurst.

 
Help Pick the Date For ‘Writing Arts Night at The Phillies’
 
Tickets for the first-place Philadelphia Phillies are flying out of Citizens Bank Park faster than they have in a while, which means we need to start narrowing down our potential days for “Rowan Writing Arts Night at the Phillies.” Please take a moment to fill out this Doodle Poll and let us know how many of these nine dates in June and July you would be able to join your colleagues, family, and friends for a night at the ballpark. Please put a number after your name indicating how many tickets your group would like. (See my entry for an example.) The magic number is 25 people as that’s the threshold needed to get a $4 per ticket discount. Last year’s group enjoyed our left field location in Section 330, which – for this year – would mean each seat would cost $24, (discounted from $28). FYI, the opponents we might see are the Arizona Diamondbacks (June 10, 11,12), the New York Mets (June 24 ,25, 26), or the Los Angeles Dodgers (July 15, 16, 17). Please feel free tocontact me if you have any questions.
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek, M.A.
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

​Glassworks Takes the Stage Tonight in West Chester, PA
 
This month’s “Livin’ on Luck” reading series event at Barnaby’s Pub in West Chester, PA, – being held tonight, April 9 – will feature our own Glassworks magazine with presentations from the just-released Spring 2019 issue, from the personal works of the publication’s faculty and students, and from other members of the Rowan Writing Arts Department. Scheduled readers for tonight’s event – sponsored by the Delaware County, PA-based Mad Poets Society – are colleagues Tim Donaldson, Myriah Stubee, and Tim Zatzariny. An Open Mic period will follow the featured presenters. The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. at Barnaby’s (15 South High Street, West Chester, PA 19382 / 610-696-1400) and, since the event is being held on a Tuesday, it’s also Taco Night with special prices all evening on the tasty Mexican snack. Contact Glassworks managing editor Anthony Palma for more details or click here to access the event’s Facebook page.
 
Next Up, Tomorrow, Pack Your Academic “Brown Bag”
  
The final First Year Writing Professional Brown Bag session of the spring semester will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow, April 10, in the 4th Floor Conference Room (Room 422) of The Vic. The session will focus on – as explained in a recent department email message – “various strategies to best assess student work in a more meaningful, equitable, and productive way. (The session) will explore the concept of contract grading in our classes and look to maximize our current portfolio assessment practices.” Light refreshments will be served and you can contact Kristine Lafferty for more information.
 
“Listening, Learning & Taking Action” Sessions Set
 
On the heels of last week’s hate-speech-filled protest that the Rowan community turned into a celebration of support for the differences that make our campus community strong and special, the university’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has scheduled a series of Listening Tour sessions. These meetings – planned for 5 p.m. Monday April 15, Noon Wednesday April 17, and 11:30 a.m. Monday April 22 (click here to RSVP) – will allow all students, faculty, and staff to share their experiences with diversity and their thoughts on how Rowan can best address these important issues. In addition, DEI – in cooperation with the Division of Student Affairs and the Student Government Association – is holding a panel discussion to discuss free speech, inclusiveness, and personal safety at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16 in Room 144 of the Chamberlain Student Center. Please contact university VP Penny McPherson Myers for more information.
 
. . . and a Few More Upcoming Activities and Events
 

• Sunday, April 14: Graduating Writing Arts senior Rachel Barton will receive the Dr. James M. Lynch Courage in Adversity Medallion Award at the annual Celebrating Leadership Awards Ceremony at 4 p.m. in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center. Contact me for more details.
• Monday, April 15: Deadline for Late Withdrawal. You and the student seeking to withdraw will need the signature of department chair Jenn Courtney before submitting the withdrawal form to the Registrar’s Office. (Click here for a copy of the form.) After next Monday, we are in the Hardship Withdrawal Period, which requires, among other things, a letter of explanation from the student and the signature of Dean Tweedie.
• Wednesday, April 24 #1: Our final Department Meeting of the semester will be held, as always, at 3:30 p.m. in Room 200 of Victoria Hall. . . .
• Wednesday, April 24 #2: . . . following the meeting, at 7 p.m., join your Writing Arts colleagues at Exit Four Private Escape Rooms on Rowan Boulevard for the premier “Rowan Writing Arts Escape Room Challenge.” See next week’s Events Update newsletter for more details.
• Saturday, May 4: The annual Student Showcase & Awards Ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. in Pfleeger Concert Hall in Wilson Hall. (Note the change of venue this year from the Student Center Ballroom.) Stellar examples of student work will be on display and an array of end-of-the-academic-year awards and scholarships will be announced and presented. Contact Gina DiBartolo for more details.
• Saturday, May 11: University Graduation will be held at 5 p.m. in Wackar Stadium followed by the Commencement Coast Celebration in the nearby Robinson Green on North Campus Drive. Faculty who wish to march in the processional and sit on the main stage must be in full academic regalia. Click here to RSVP for the event.
• Wednesday, May 15: CCCA Graduation will be held at 10 a.m. on Bunce Green. Again, faculty must be in full regalia to participate in the college’s commencement ceremony.

 
Coming next week in Events Update: A look at some recent community outreach efforts by the Rowan Writing Center, more details on the “Rowan Writing Arts Escape Room Challenge,” and a poll to choose this summer’s “Rowan Writing Arts Night at the Phillies.”
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek, M.A.
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a relaxing and/or productive spring break (depending on your goals). Just six weeks to go until portfolios, finals, and graduation!
 
March Department Meeting: This Wednesday the 27th
 
Our next Writing Arts Department meeting will be this Wednesday, March 27, at 3:30 p.m. in Victoria 200. Full-time and ¾-time faculty are expected to attend while adjunct and TEP instructors are welcome to sit in. Jenn Courtney will be sending an agenda in the next day or so with more details. . . . Please don’t forget to bring a donation for The S.H.O.P. as our grocery cart will be in the meeting room. We’ve already filled one cart this semester and it would be great to top off a second one before summer when students’ need for food is at its greatest. Also, if you attended 4Cs in Pittsburgh last week, this is the perfect opportunity to drop off any toiletries you might have picked up during the conference. Thank you!
 
Medallion Winner Barton Picks Up Another Award
 
Rachel Barton, recipient of this year’s Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion, will be picking up another honor before graduation: The Dr. James M. Lynch Jr. Courage in Adversity Award. The Faculty Senate Awards Committee selected Rachel from more than a dozen nominees for the award that is presented to a senior who has overcome circumstances of extreme hardship to achieve an education. The award is named for Dr. Lynch, who spent 22 years at Rowan University as Dean of Students and a faculty member and administrator in the Department of Educational Leadership. Rachel will receive her award at the Celebrating Leadership Awards ceremony on Sunday, April 14 at 4 p.m. in the Chamberlain Student Center ballroom. A Rowan Medallion (left) is the highest honor the university bestows upon a graduate to acknowledge superior performance in a particular area or field. Winning one Medallion is special; winning two is extraordinary. Congratulations, Rachel! Both honors are well deserved.
 
Sharpen Your Pencil: More Dates and Deadlines
 

• Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26, at 11 p.m. is the deadline to submit your Spring 2019 Midterm Progress Survey through the Rowan Success Network (RSN). You should have received a reminder email over spring break, but if you need help filling out the survey, log into Starfish by clicking here. The survey should only take a few minutes and your responses will help RSN determine which students to reach out to and offer help. Note that if you have no concerns or lack sufficient data to report on your students’ progress, please complete the survey to let the Starfish folks know this. Remember, all departments with 100 percent participation receive a one-time department financial bonus from the Provost’s Office!
• Wednesday, March 27, at 4 p.m. is the deadline to submit your request to rent academic regalia for the University Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11 and the College of Communication and Creative Arts ceremony on Wednesday, May 15. Click here for more information and to access the Academic Regalia Rental Form. It costs from $34 to $38 to rent a full set of gown, headwear, and hood. Faculty are cordially invited to participate in both ceremonies, but must be in academic regalia to do so.
• Thursday, March 28, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Bozorth Hall’s King Auditorium, James Chase Sanchez, co-producer of the “Man on Fire” documentary will present a screening and discussion of the film; then . . .
• The following morning, Friday, March 29, Sanchez will conduct a faculty workshop on “Critical Race Pedagogies” from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in Room 104 of Business Hall.
• Also on Friday, March 29, the university will sponsor the Experiential Storytelling Conference 2019 at the Rowan Art Gallery from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Nine speakers from academia, the arts, the media, and the financial world will share their stories of personal and professional accomplishment and achievement.
• Next Monday, April 1, is the deadline for members of the department’s Adjunct Review Committee to upload their completed review packets to the team’s Google Drive. Please contact colleagues Kate Brown or Tim Donaldson for more information.
• Monday, April 8, College Assembled with be held from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in Bozorth Hall’s King Auditorium.
• Tuesday, April 9, Glassworks magazine – and its staff and interns – will be featured at the Livin’ on Luck Reading Series sponsored by the Mad Poets Society at Barnaby’s Pub in West Chester, PA. Contact Glassworks managing editor Anthony Palma for more details.

 
Perfect Round Boosts Quizzo Team to Second - Again
 
“The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Quizzo team that night; the lead looked out of reach and our score was such a fright.-*” However, unlike the ill-fated Casey and his three-pitch strikeout, the Writing Arts competitors pulled out a perfect 10-for-10 final round over spring break for a second-straight second-place finish at P.J. Whelihan’s Quizzo Night. With the competition being held just before the start of the NCAA basketball championships, the final category, fittingly, was “Name the tournament entrant with these nicknames.” We were the only team who knew where the Anteaters (left), Gaels, Orange, and seven other competitors call home. Earlier in the evening, we were fortunate to get six of ten correct in a graphic category that asked for the names of pictured video game characters. Win or lose, it was – once again – an excellent evening. Keep an eye onEvents Update for details on our next event: “The Rowan Boulevard Escape Room Challenge.” . . . (*- Apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer)
 
Last Call for Employee Tours of Hollybush Mansion
 
Thursday, April 4 is the final day of this spring’s series of employee tours of Hollybush Mansion. The tour runs from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and participants are asked to use the entrance that faces Evergreen Hall. Contact University Relations for more information. . . . The oldest building on our campus – completed in 1849 – Hollybush was the school’s first woman’s dormitory before the completion of Laurel Hall. It also served as the home for four of our first five presidents – Jerohn Savitz, Edgar Bunce, Thomas Robinson, and Herman James (our fourth president, Mark Chamberlain, chose a smaller dwelling off campus) – and it’s now used as a museum and to host university receptions. Hollybush has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972 and a 2016 research project indicates the structure most likely was designed by John Notman (1810-1856), known as the Father of American Italianate Design
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weekly Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

Reminders and Requests as Spring Break Approaches
 
As we count the hours and days to the start of spring break this weekend, here are some items for your academic and personal to-do lists:
 

• It’s time to complete our mid-term Rowan Success Network evaluations on Starfish. These evaluations are a great way to codify, in a university-sponsored space, the progress and growth your students are showing – or might not be showing – through the first eight weeks of the semester. A positive job-well-done notation is as important to some students as the negative wake-up call will be to others. Click here for more information on these evaluations and for step-by-step instructions on completing them. The deadline for submission of your evaluations is right after spring break, Tuesday, March 26. Please note that once again this semester, the Provost’s Office is offering a $500 bonus to all departments with a 100 percent completion rate. Invoking a baseball analogy during spring training, let’s all complete our evaluations and knock this one out of the park.

 

• Speaking of negative evaluations for students who might be struggling or having other issues in our classes, next Wednesday, March 20 – right in the middle of spring break week --  is the deadline for regular course withdrawal. Regular withdrawal requires only the professor’s signature on the form (click here). Looking ahead, the deadline for the next stage of the course withdrawal process – late withdrawal – is Monday, April 15. Late withdrawal forms require the signature of the department chair in addition to the professor.

 

• The evening of the regular withdrawal deadline – Wednesday, March 20 – is our spring semester Rowan Writing Arts Quizzo Night at PJ Whelihan’s on Haddon Avenue in Westmont. The competition starts at 8 p.m., but please show up early so we can settle in for an evening of challenging questions, correct answers, . . . and victory! Please contact me with any questions or to let me know you’ll be joining our winning team! It’s always a fun evening, so hopefully you can stop by!

 

• Spring break also means it’s conference travel time, and an opportunity for an easy, quick, and inexpensive way for us to continue our support forThe S.H.O.P campus food bank: Collect, bring home, and drop off the unused toiletries from your conference hotel room. Those of us going to Pittsburgh this weekend for the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the cohort headed to Portland, Oregon, at the end of the month for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference are asked to please collect these items for distribution to students through The S.H.O.P. A suggestion to maximize your effort: Place each day’s toiletries in your suitcase so you get a fresh supply the next day! Stephanie on the fourth floor and Dawn on the fifth floor will be collecting these soaps, shampoos, and other items. (Thank you and a tip of the Events Update cap to Writing Arts colleague, and 4Cs attendee, Marie Flocco for this excellent idea.)

​Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weeklyRowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

​Middle States Accreditation Team on Campus This Week
 
The chair and members of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) team evaluating Rowan University will be on campus this week, holding separate open discussion sessions for faculty, staff, and students, and making an exit report to the university community. The focus of these meetings is to discuss the Self Study Report compiled by Rowan and presented to the commission in late January. . . . The two faculty meetings (for tenure-track faculty and instructors, lecturers, part-time adjunct faculty, librarians, and professional staff with instructional roles) will be today (Monday, March 11) from 4:00 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. in Room 129 of the Chamberlain Student Center and tomorrow (Tuesday, March 12) from 1:45 p.m. to 2:25 p.m. in Student Center Room 144. The open session for staff is tomorrow from 3:30 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. in Student Center Room 144, and the student session will be held today from 5:00 p.m. to 5:55 p.m. in Student Center Room 129. The exit report will be delivered on Wednesday, March 13 from 11:15 a.m. to 12 noon in the Student Center’s Eynon Ballroom. . . . Every ten years, the MSCHE requires colleges and universities to conduct a self-study of their initiatives, operations, progress, and commitments as a benchmark in the middle of their accreditation term. Rowan received its last accreditation in 2014 and is due for another full Peer Evaluation in 2024. Middle States is one of six such commissions nationwide that provides accreditation for institutions of higher learning; Middle States covers New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Also Today: Final Creative Nonfiction Candidate Presentation
 
The fourth of the four candidates for the department’s open Creative Nonfiction tenure-track position will be on campus today (Monday, March 11). Heather Lanier will make a teaching presentation with Q&A from 9:15 to 10:00 a.m. in Room 200 of The Vic, and will hold a students-only Q&A session from 10:00-10:30 a.m. three floors up in Room 504. Later in the afternoon, Heather will present a creative reading with Q&A from 3:30-4:45 p.m., back in Vic 200. Feel free to contact Ron Block for more details.
 
Also Tomorrow, Career Expo/Student Showcase Takes The Stage
 
Student projects from various departments in the College of Communication and Creative Arts will be on display in the Eynon Ballroom of the Chamberlain Student Center tomorrow – Tuesday, March 12 – from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the first CCCA Career Expo and Student Showcase. In addition, a number of local, regional, and national employers with full-time jobs and summer and part-time internships available will be on hand as well. Contact Laura Kincaid for more information.
 
Congratulations, Jade Jones, On Your PEN America Award
 
Did you know we have one of the 12 best emerging fiction writers of the year in our midst? Dean’s Fellow Jade Jones is one of the dozen winners of the just-presented PEN America/Robert J. Dau Prize. Jade was selected for her short story “Today, You’re a Black Revolutionary” that appeared in the June 27, 2018 issue of the literary journal The Rumpus. In addition to receiving a cash award, Jade and the 11 other winners will have their work published in an annual anthology entitled The PEN America Best Debut Short Stories of 2019. New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts was the setting for the late February awards ceremony where Jade received her honor at an event attended by such celebrity glitterati as actor/musician/writer Steve Martin. PEN America was launched in 1922 with an initial membership list that included such literary icons as Willa Cather, Robert Frost, Eugene O’Neill, Robert Benchley, and Booth Tarkington. The organization’s founding principle is to “ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others.” (Photo: Jade attended the NYU ceremony with her husband, Writing Arts colleague Grayson Morley.)
 
Wednesday, March 20: The Date of Our Quizzo Redemption
 
Late last summer, Rowan Writing Arts was just one question away (one poorly worded question away, it should be noted) from winning the weekly Quizzo championship at PJ Whelihan’s in Westmont. On Wednesday, March 20 – in the middle of spring break week – we will take to the tables again to earn what rightfully was ours. The more people who can attend – family and friends are cordially invited – the better chance we have of emerging victorious. In addition to the competition and teamwork, it’s an evening of fun with colleagues outside our usual audience-purpose-context-based world. Contact me for more details and to join the team.
 
Upcoming: Escape from RoBo; A Night at the Phillies
We’ll have more information after spring break about our next Writing Arts team event: Breaking the code to gain release from one of the themed rooms at Exit Four Escape Rooms on Rowan Boulevard. We’re thinking a mid-week evening in mid- to late April, just before Portfolios are due. Please contact me with some suggestions for the event. . . . Speaking of the Phillies, you might have heard about someone called Bryce Harper. In addition to being a very wealthy young man, he’s also expected to boost interest in, and ticket sales for, our hometown Phils. With this in mind, we’re starting to work on plans for the second annual Rowan Writing Arts Night at the Phillies. With the inaugural CCCA Summer Camp tentatively scheduled for July (more details coming soon) and August being a traditional month for family vacations, we’re zeroing in on two weeks in June – June 10, 11, 12 and June 24, 25, 26 – to get our block of discounted group tickets. Please send me an email and let me know all of those dates that work for you and – even if it’s an estimate – how many tickets you might want for that night. Thank you!
 
Finally, . . .
 
Here are some items – new or previously mentioned – for your calendars:

• James Chase Sanchez, co-producer of the “Man on Fire” documentary will present a screening and lead a discussion of the film on Thursday, March 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Bozorth Hall’s King Auditorium; the next morning, Friday, March 29, Sanchez will conduct a faculty workshop on “Critical Race Pedagogies” from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in Room 104 of Business Hall.
• Also on Friday, March 29, the university will host the Experiential Storytelling Conference 2019 at the Rowan Art Gallery from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Nine speakers from academia, the arts, the media, and the financial world will share their stories of personal and professional accomplishment and achievement. (NOTE: The morning sessions have sold out, but a waiting list is being compiled.)
• Glassworks magazine and its staff, on Tuesday, April 9, are being featured at The Livin’ on Luck Reading Series sponsored by the Mad Poets Society at Barnaby’s Pub in West Chester, PA. Contact Anthony Palma for more details.

 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weekly Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

Creative Nonfiction Hiring Presentations Begin Today
 
Students and faculty are invited to take part in any or all of the public events that are part of the selection process to choose a new creative nonfiction professor for our department. The final four candidates for this tenure-track position will be on campus today (Randon Noble); next Monday, March 4 (Daisy Hernández); next Wednesday, March 6 (Robin McCrary); and the following Monday, March 11 (Heather Lanier). The schedule for each day will be identical: A teaching presentation with Q&A: 9:15-10:00 a.m., 260 Victoria, Room 200; a students-only Q&A meeting: 10:00-10:30 a.m., 260 Victoria, Room 504; and a creative reading with Q&A: 3:30-4:45 p.m., 260 Victoria, Room 200. Please take this opportunity to meet these four talented individuals and give them an enthusiastic Prof welcome to our campus. Feel free to contact Ron Block for more details.
 
Details for Sanchez Campus Visit Coming Together
 
Just a few finishing touches remain to finalize the late March visit to Rowan by filmmaker James Chase Sanchez, co-producer of the celebrated documentary “Man on Fire.” The events – sponsored by the College of Communication and Creative Arts and one or more other campus organizations – will start with a screening and discussion of the film on the evening of Thursday, March 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in Bozorth Hall’s King Auditorium, and will wrap up the following morning, Friday, March 29, with a workshop on “Critical Race Pedagogies” from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in Room 104 of Business Hall. “Man on Fire” has been featured in nearly a dozen international film festivals and tells the story of elderly white minister Charles Moore and his self-immolation to protest the extreme racism in his – and Sanchez’ – hometown of Grand Saline, Texas. (Click here to watch the “Man on Fire” trailer.) Sanchez is an assistant professor of writing at Vermont’s Middlebury College; he received his Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Texas Christian University and both his M.A. in English and B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Tyler.
 
Nine Speakers, One Full Day of Experiential Storytelling
 
There’s a bounty of professional development riches on campus the last week of March as the Experiential Storytelling Conference 2019 takes over the Rowan Art Gallery from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 29. Nine speakers from academia, the arts, the media, and the financial world will share their stories of conquering challenges, bridging boundaries, and conceiving groundbreaking concepts and ideas. Sponsored by the College of Communication and Creative Arts – the storytellers of Rowan University – the conference features such varied presenters as Jane Golden, Executive Director of the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program; Ellen Lupton, Curator of Contemporary Design at New York City’s Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum; and, representing Rowan, our President Ali Houshmand, Dean Ken Lacovara, and alumni/philanthropists Ric and Jean Edelman. Click here to learn more about and to RSVP for this one-of-a-kind event.
 
Learn Resume Writing from Three Knowledgeable Pros
 
Three of our Writing Arts faculty colleagues – Grace Fillenwarth, Amy Reed, and Jen Tole – will hold a resume writing workshop for students on Wednesday, March 6, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in Room 200 of The Vic. We all know the importance to our students of a professional-looking, information-packed, attention-grabbing resume; it can mean the difference between making it through that initial vetting filter and getting to that final set of interviews. Grace, Amy, and Jen will be sharing their experience in business, professional, and technical writing – and in resume crafting – with students looking for that career-building edge. Please have your students contact Grace for more details on this valuable seminar.
 
Spring Is Coming; So Is the Spring ’19 Glassworks Issue
 
Local authors and writing instructors Jeffrey Markovitz and Joe Costal will be reading at the launch event for the Spring 2019/Issue 18 of Glassworks on Thursday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Rowan Art Gallery. Costal, who teaches at Stockton University in Galloway Township and at Oakcrest High School in Hamilton Township (both in Atlantic County) will be reading from his fiction piece “Puncher, America and Fake-Ass Jordans” that appears in the new issue. Markovitz, Assistant Professor of English at the Community College of Philadelphia and director of CCP’s Creative Writing Certificate Program, will read from one of his current works; his fiction piece “Threads” was published inGlassworks Issue 10 in Fall 2015. The launch event also will feature readings from the new issue by the spring semester interns of Glassworks, the literary journal published by our Master of Arts in Writing program. Beverages and light snacks will be available. Contact Managing Editor Anthony Palma for more details.
 
Needed: Feedback on Some Upcoming Social Events
 
As we round the quarter-pole of the spring semester, plans are being formulated for several Rowan Writing Arts activities, and Events Update is looking for some feedback to help ensure we are working on what you want. Current thoughts include a March Quizzo Night at P.J. Whelihan’s in Westmont (remember, we were in a three-way tie for first after regulation at our initial Quizzo last summer; we finished second after a bonus question); an April escape room night on Rowan Boulevard; and a May end-of-the-school-year celebration at The Landmark, or Chickie’s and Pete’s, or . . . any suggestions? As it’s just 79 days to CCCA graduation, our thoughts for the summer are another Rowan Writing Arts Night at the Phillies and, possibly, a Writing Arts (or CCCA-wide) golf outing. Please send me your thoughts on any of these ideas or some other suggestions. Thank you!
 
Finally, . . .
 
Please join Events Update in sending congratulations and best wishes to our new Writing Arts Department chair Drew Kopp. With his experience as our Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs, his work with the Writing Arts interns, and his numerous other academic service and professional development projects, we know Drew will provide our majors and all of Rowan’s writing students with varied growth opportunities and myriad career choices. This is, of course, a transition from one excellent chair to another as we want to add our thank you to our current chair Jenn Courtney. Your guidance and leadership, Jenn, during this period of growth for Writing Arts – tenure-track and Lecturer hires, the TEP program, and all the new minors, CUGS, and COGS – have perfectly positioned us to continue our role as one of Rowan’s leading academic departments.
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weekly Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

​Pack A Sandwich, The FYW Brown Bag Series Is Back
 
Soup, celery sticks, and yogurt also are acceptable choices for the initial First Year Writing Professional Development Brown Bag series of the Spring 2019 semester. The term’s first topic will be “Reading and Responding to Student Writing: Theories and Methods” and there will be two discussion groups this week: Wednesday the 13that 2 p.m. and Friday the 15th at 11 a.m., both in the 4th Floor Conference Room (422). The three readings being analyzed – from Lil Brannon and C.H. Knoblauch, John Bean, and Anthony Eddington – are available on Google Drive. The discussions will center on how to give students greater power over their words and help them foster productive revision skills. Colleagues are encouraged to attend even if they have not finished digesting all three readings. Contact Ted Howell with any questions or for more information.
 
CUGS In Sustainability Communications to Launch This Fall
 
The Certificate of Undergraduate Studies (CUGS) Writing for the Environment – shared by the Department of Writing Arts and the Department of Geography, Planning, and Sustainability – will be on the Rowan University course selection list for the 2019-2020 academic year. This new CUGS was jointly created by our own Ted Howell, Faculty Fellow for Cultivating the Environmental Humanities, and Kenneth Lacovara, Founding Dean of the School of Earth and Environment. The program, Ted said, “offers to students the opportunity to combine knowledge about and advocacy for environmental issues with the reading, writing, and communication skills necessary for success in a variety of academic fields and professional careers.” To receive a Writing for the Environment certificate, students will take two Geography, Planning, and Sustainability courses (“Human Nature: Introduction to Environmental & Sustainability Studies, Environmental Advocacy) and two of three Writing Arts courses (Intro to Technical Writing, Scientific Writing and Rhetoric, Writing for Nonprofits). Ted will gladly provide any additional details you might like about this exciting new program.
 
Some Upcoming Events for Your Writing Arts Calendar
 
n  With the change of seasons next month comes the launch of the Spring 2019 (Issue 18) of Glassworks, the literary journal published twice a year by the Master of Arts in Writing program. Plan to spend a few hours on the evening of Thursday, March 7, starting at 6:30 p.m., to hear readings from the issue presented by some of the featured authors and by Glassworks student editors. Events Update will have more information as the date draws closer. Glassworks Managing Editor Anthony Palma also can answer any questions you might have.
n  On the following Tuesday, March 12, the initial College of Communication and Creative Arts Career Expo and Student Showcase will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Chamberlain Student Center Eynon Ballroom. Not to be confused with the Saturday, May 4 CCCA Student Awards and Showcase, the Career Expo and Showcase will feature local, regional, and national employers offering jobs and internships. Student projects also will be on display. Contact Laura Kincaid for more information.
n  Details are being finalized for the two-day campus event – Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29 – featuring James Chase Sanchez, co-producer of the powerful documentary “Man on Fire.” The film – featured in nine international festivals – looks at small-town racism and the ultimate sacrifice one man made to bring this horrific issue to light. A screening of “Man on Fire,” a workshop, and other activities are planned; stay tuned for more details.
 
Dean’s Fellow to Teach at Camden Community Workshop
 
Our Writing Arts Dean’s Fellow Jade Jones will be teaching a one-day class on “Crafting Empathetic Characters” on Saturday, March 2, at the Cooper Street Workshop in Camden from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jade, who did her undergraduate work at Princeton University and received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, will be focusing on how, as she describes in her course description, characters “introduce the reader to the worlds we’ve built and can set the tone, direction, and momentum of a novel or short story.” Click here to learn more and to register to attend, or email Jade with any specific questions.
 
Finally, . . .
 
A big Events Update thumbs up and congratulations to colleagues Amy Reed and Ron Block who have earned sabbatical releases starting in the Fall 2019 semester. Amy will be out for the full academic year while Ron returns for the Spring 2020 term. Nice work, Amy and Ron!
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weekly Rowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu 

Welcome Back to Campus! Now, Log in to Your Calendar

Wow! It’s 2019. We’re almost through two decades of the 21st century. Pretty incredible! Of course, a new year – and a new semester – brings a new list of events, so open your Day-Timer and start making notes:

• Today (Monday, January 28) is the end of Regular Drop/Add, meaning one more week of potential class roster flux (see below).
• Tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29), is the deadline for Class Enrollment Verification. Click here to, if necessary, access a tutorial PDF on the process and click here to go to your personal verification enrollment page on Banner. Please contact the Registrar’s Office with any additional questions or problems.
• This Wednesday the 30th is our first monthly Department Meeting. As usual, it will be held in Vic 200 and will run from 3:30 p.m. (sharp!) until 4:45 p.m. Full-time and ¾-time faculty are expected to attend while adjunct and TEP instructors are cordially invited to join us. Keep an eye on your email inbox for an agenda and other meeting-related information from Jenn Courtney. Also, as usual, our department “S.H.O.P.-ping Cart” will be on hand to accept your donations of non-perishable food and personal care items for the student food bank.
• Next Monday, February 4, is the end of Late Drop/Add, a one-week grace period provided by the university to accommodate students facing special circumstances (such as finances, etc.) that delayed any intended registration adjustment. This usually ends the addition of students to our classrooms for the semester.
• While we’re on the topic of Registrar deadlines, here’s one more: Wednesday, March 20 (FYI: in the middle of Spring Break) is the cutoff date forRegular Withdrawal.
• Finally, just because it’s less than three weeks away, Monday, February 18 will be our annual College of Communication and Creative Arts Open Doors Day. This is the annual opportunity offered to students who have been admitted to our various CCCA departments to tour our facilities, sit in on a class, and take part in a Q&A session with Dean Sandy Tweedie, faculty members, students, and admissions officials. Contact Gina DiBartolo in the Dean’s office for more information.

You Want Writers? Writing Arts Has Writers for You!

Expanding the already glowing reputation of Rowan Writing Arts as a department that publishes as well as instructs, three of our colleagues have new books on the shelves, and – of course – also available online. Here’s our latest list of achievements:

• Strange Stories, by Lisa Jahn-Clough, is an early-reader collection of 13 short stories about, “good kids, bad kids, happy kids, sad kids, magic toys, talking animals, and other strange things.” With large type and just the right amount of challenging words, Strange Stories is perfect for readers age 7-10 and is available on Amazon for $14.99. A note of caution: After reading “Waffles for Breakfast: The Story of Hans,” you might choose to sleep in and skip right to lunch.
  
• A Spring to Remember is Megan Atwood’s final entry in her middle-grade Orchard Novel series that also includes Ice Cream Summer, Once Upon a Winter, and A Fall for Friendship. In A Spring to Remember, we learn about the Orchard gang’s plans to bring together Sheriff Hadley and Sarah’s mom, but the scheme involves having a reluctant Lizzie sing in public. You can spring into Megan’s latest work, available for $12.99, by clicking here.
  
• If you already have a copy of Taylor Henry’s Wildwood Houses Through Time, consider yourself fortunate. The book, part of the “America Through Time” series from Arcadia Publishing/Fonthill Media, sold out its first printing, but still can be ordered through Amazon (for $17.38); the estimated shipping window is one to two months. Wildwood Houses Through Time tells the story, in pictures and text, of more than 120 historic homes in the Cape May County, NJ, resort city, a number of which date back to the 1870s. Taylor’s interest in and affection for these time capsule dwellings was kindled in her youth as she grew up in a house built in 1910 that was just down the street from the Wildwood Boardwalk. Interestingly, her old house is not in the book as her father, a building contractor, made renovations to the structure years ago to shore up a sagging foundation. Those updates, which included vinyl siding and drywall, unfortunately stripped the house of its historic status.
  

Print Center Almost Back in The Pink . . . Uh, The ‘Ink’
 
The Rowan University Print Center in Memorial Hall is working its way back to full operation after a major HVAC malfunction flooded much of the facility near the end of winter break. Center administrators are asking that faculty send in projects as early as possible, keeping in mind the facility is closed over the weekend, meaning jobs submitted late in the week will not be ready on Monday morning. Despite these problems, customers are being asked to order projects through the online system and the Center will work on them in house or transparently farm them out to a partner vendor for its standard rates. Also, the facility’s wide-format printers were not damaged, so banners, posters, and other oversize work is being processed as usual. You can call the Center at 856-256-4623 with any questions.

​Wednesdays We’ve Got Quizzo On Our Minds
 
It’s time to flex our trivia muscles again as we’re looking to schedule another session of Wednesday Night Quizzo at P.J. Whelihan’s in Westmont. Following our oh-so-close second-place finish last fall (after a three-way tie in regulation), we want to put our collective and extensive faculty knowledge on display once again. Let me know if you’re interested to join in on a Wednesday night in mid- to late-February or early March – once the semester is smoothly underway – and we’ll pick an exact date for the competition. Also, on the heels of last summer’s well-attended Phillies game, we’re looking to schedule another Rowan Writing Arts Night at Citizens Bank Park. Let me know if you and any family members or friends are interested.
 
Once again, welcome back to campus and have a great semester!
 
Do you have a new publication, a reading, or any other event of interest coming up? Please let me know so I can let all our colleagues know in the weeklyRowan Writing Arts Events Update newsletter. Stop by my Victoria 521 office or email me at royek@rowan.edu to give me the 4-1-1.
 
Access Events Update online by clicking here.
 
Stephen A. Royek
Lecturer, Writing Arts
Rowan University
Chair, Faculty Senate Awards Committee
     Victoria Hall, Room 521
     Phone: 856-906-4755
     Email: royek@rowan.edu