Rowan Writing Arts Events Update: Week ofMay 6, 2019

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