Volume 40:3

1. Announcements

CSUN Research Fellows Program, funded collaboratively by the Office of the Provost, the Colleges and the Library, is once again inviting tenured and probationary faculty to submit proposals to become a Research Fellow. Nine research fellowships will be awarded each academic year (one per College and one in the Library). The CSUN Research Fellows Program provides 12 units of reassigned time and a small research support budget for those who are selected.  Faculty who are interested in becoming a Research fellow must submit proposals, no longer than five pages, including any additional budget request up to $5,000 to the Dean’s Office by 5:00 p.m. on January 24, 2014 on the College-provided proposal form, available on the College website. Go ahead; don’t be shy. And good luck to all.

President Dianne Harrison and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Harry Hellenbrand invite all candidates who will be reviewed in the RTP process this year, including faculty under review for retention, tenure, and/or promotion in rank to Associate Professor as well as faculty seeking promotion in rank to Professor, to attend a “Retention, Tenure, and Promotion” informal discussion on Friday, October 11, 2013 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Ferman Presentation Room at the Oviatt Library. Members of reviewing agencies such as Department Chairs, members of Department and College Personnel Committees, and Deans and faculty planning to seek promotion in rank in future years are also invited and encouraged to attend.

On September 30 and October 1, CSUN will be hosting a two-day event, “Higher Education in the Brave New World.”  This symposium is part of a continuing series of events hosted by CSU, Northridge on “CSU: The Next 50 Years.” The focus of this symposium will be on changing delivery and learning models to prepare students for whatever in the world may be coming next, and will feature two days of exciting panels and speakers. Registration for the event is now open; please visit: http://www.csun.edu/senate/symposiumregistration for additional information and to register.  There is no registration fee to attend but registration is mandatory due to space limitations. General registration will be restricted to approximately 100 attendees.  It is possible to attend just one of the event days if you schedule does not permit attending both days. Please register by September 25 (which, oops, was yesterday but if you are quick about it and there is room, late registrants might still be accepted).

Also on Monday, September 30, English and Chicana/o Studies will jointly be sponsoring an important panel discussion, “Massacre, Migration, Memory, and the Search for Justice in Guatemala and the United States.” Speakers will include Oscar Alfredo Ramirez Castaneda, survivor of the Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala, now living in Massachusetts; Castaneda’s father, Tranquilino Castanedo, a farmer and survivor of Dos Erres who, for nearly 30 years, believed his children and pregnant wife had been killed; Fredy Peccerelli, founder of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation; and Scott Greathead, litigation lawyer and member of Human Rights First. The discussion will take place in the Whitsett Room, from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m.

2. Reminders

This is a quick reminder that the Amenities Committee asks you to please contribute to our annual fund, which finances the holiday party, refreshments for department meetings, and celebrations for faculty and staff retirements and other milestones. Contributions (in the form of cash or checks) should be given to Marlene Cooksey (ST 704). Checks should be made out to “Amenities.” (Please don’t put cash in Marlene’s mailbox.) Suggested contributions are the same as last year: Professor $70, Associate $50, Assistant $40, Lecturer $10. Thank you for helping us to fund department events and to reimburse those who shop for these events!

I know we are all looking forward to the New Oviatt Library Learning Commons ribbon cutting and reception on October 3, 2013, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., but just in case it slipped your mind, it’s coming up next week. Tour the Commons with its open and flexible technology-enhanced study spaces including ergonomic, modern furniture, laptop checkouts and new interactive digital signage. Also showcased will be the expanded new Freudian Sip Coffeehouse featuring its famous chocolate covered eclairs and the Learning Resources Center, now located on the Oviatt Library 3rd floor, East Wing. Welcome and  opening remarks by Oviatt Library Dean, Mark Stover, with additional program remarks by President, Dianne F. Harrison; Provost, Harry Hellenbrand; and VP for Student Affairs, William Watkins. RSVP at http://library.csun.edu/GrandOpening by September 25th (which was, again, yesterday). For more information contact Sarah Sayeed (818) 677-7629.

Also in the not to forget category, the deadline for Probationary Faculty Grants is coming up, on October 1, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

And for those of you for whom these various applications (or just the fifth week of the term) cause stress, there is always Kathy Leslie’s English yoga every Wednesday at 12:30 in JR 319.

3. Opportunities

The 38th Comparative Drama Conference, featuring playwright David Henry Hwang for a stimulating conversation about contemporary theater, has issued a call for papers reporting on new research and development in any aspect of drama. Papers may be comparative across nationalities, periods and disciplines; and may deal with any issue in dramatic literature, criticism, theory, and performance, or any method of historiography, translation, or production. Hosted by Stevenson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and featuring playright David Henry Hwang for a stimulating conversation about contemporary theater, the conference will take place April 3 to 5 in 2014. The deadline for submission is December 3, 2013.

The deadline for The Missouri Review’s Editors’ Prize competition is coming up soon — October 1. This award, one of the most highly respected in the country, offers a wonderful opportunity for both emerging and established writers: past winners have been selected for the Best American series — and all first-place winners receive a featured publication in The Missouri Review, $5,000, and a paid trip out to our spring reading and reception. Submission guidelines can also be found at  http://www.missourireview.com/tmrsubmissions/editors-prize-contest/.

The The Truth About the Fact, an international journal of literary nonfiction published by Loyola Marymount University, has issued a call for submissions of literary nonfiction essay, memoir, and/or commentary (1000-5000 words), literary nonfiction narrative poetry, and black and white art and photography.  The deadline is December 31, 2013, and work can be submitted by email to editor@thetruthaboutthefact.com.

4. Achievements

Scott Andrews will have an essay in the Spring 2014 issue of Western American Literature, which will be a special edition on American Indian literature.  “The Significance of the Frontier in Comanche Poetry” discusses Sy Hoahwah’s collection, Velroy and the Madischie Mafia, in light of Frederick Jackson Turner’s famous essay titled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” suggesting the influence of a Comanche (rather than American) exceptionalism.  Also, his prose poem titled “I (Thunderheart) N.Y.” (which you can read on his office door) will be reprinted in Good Medicine, an anthology of American Indian humor.

Martin Pousson has been invited to speak on a panel at the West Hollywood Book Fair on Sunday, September 29. The Identity in Fiction panel will be moderated by Cheryl Klein, of Poets & Writers, and will take place in the LGBT Lounge, upstairs in the West Hollywood Library, 2:15-3:15. The event is free and all are welcome.

Elyce Wakerman’s article, “Reinventing Your Career After Retirement,” can be found at  nycitywoman.com.