English Department Finishes Year With Record Of Success

The English department’s annual Awards Reception, held June 4 at the Faculty Club, honored English majors and faculty who have received teaching recognition, student scholarships, academic awards and writing prizes. Winners of the William C. Boyce Award for Teaching Excellence were Mary Beth Debs and Jim Hall (tenured faculty), Lisa Beckelhimer (adjunct faculty), and Julie Gerk (graduate assistant).

The United States Embassy recognized the outstanding work of Lee Person, professor and head of the department by inviting him to lecture in Europe, where he spoke at Amerika Haus in Vienna and the Universities of Vienna, Innsbruck, and Salzburg. His addresses were titled “The Life and Writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne” and “Trying out ‘The Scarlet Letter.’” Person has devoted much of his research and publication to analysis of the nineteenth century author. His latest work, “The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings,” a Norton critical edition, will be published this year. Person has served as president of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society and is currently treasurer and an executive board member.

The Ohio Arts Council has honored Professor John Drury with a $5000 Individual Fellowship grant for his poetry. Adjunct Virginia Slachman, a PhD graduate of the department, received a similar distinction.

Adam Sol, another PhD graduate, is the recipient of Ontario’s prestigious Trillum Award for Poetry, given yearly for the best book of poems by a young author. His work, “Crowd of Sounds,” was published by House of Anansi Press and is his second book of poetry. Sol won $10,000, and his publisher received $2000 to promote the book.

The recently organized Undergraduate Literary Society demonstrates the department’s success in creating interest in literature. The group was founded by students who describe its purpose as creating “an informal community of people with whom [to] share … love of reading and studying literature.” Meetings involve debates about authors and classroom issues and may include faculty presentations on topics such as applying to graduate school. Sara Flatt, Jonathan Geltner, and Danielle Logsdon organized the group, and Jon Kamholtz acts as adviser.