March 1, 2025 — 18th Annual Department of English Undergraduate & Graduate Research Conference — Location TBA (see the Call for Papers for submission instructions)
March 21-23, 2025 — 12th Annual Department of English Spring Break Trip to the American Shakespeare Center — Staunton, Virginia (cultural event credits) *Registration required
Successfully created a new Micro-Certificate in Technical Writing for Fall 2024 implementation (7-9 hours, with E-badge and internship option).
Created a new course, WRIT 365: Proposal and Grant Writing, and updated several other technical writing courses to support our new Micro-Certificate in Technical Writing.
Revitalized and updated our Department of English Internship Program.
Writing Center tutors provided student support in 1,386 appointments across the academic year.
Hosted a Department of English Alumni Career Panel (November 7, 2023).
Offered four career-readiness workshops for students on topics such as interviewing, resume writing, networking, and internship preparation.
Successfully completed a search process for a new English Instructor position to replace a retiring instructor.
Achieved a 100% pass rate on our English Secondary Education majors’ EdTPA exams (highest average rubric score in program history).
Continued our 100% job placement rate for our English Secondary Education graduates.
Engaged in a complete renovation of our Writing Center, an important retention resource for our students.
Created new AI Policy Syllabus Statements for WRIT 101 and CRTW 201 and trained faculty in how to respond to AI text submissions.
Hosted the 2023 Southeastern Medieval Association Conference at Winthrop University.
Hosted Dr. Gregg Hecimovich, Hutchins Family Fellow at Harvard and award-winning author, for a lecture on his recently published book The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative.
Took four Secondary Education students to the 2023 National Council of Teachers of English Convention.
Successfully reinstituted our Annual Spring Break Trip to the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA.
Hosted two Lena-Miles Wever Todd Writers’ Residency Readings (Andrew Collard and Jacqueline Vogtman), three Student Creative Writer Showcases, a Graduate Scholars’ Forum, an Anthology Publication Reading event, a Women’s Poetry Reading event, two Research Parties, a Literary Society Murder Mystery Dinner, a Bancroft Trick-or-Treating event, a Welcome Back Department Social, and a Merry Monday Holiday Reception.
Graduated three students in our MA program (two passed their comprehensive exams with distinction) and experienced significant growth in the program (nine new students this year versus two last year).
English major Paige Lillibridge won the prestigious College of Arts & Sciences Inez Bell Caskey Award for Research in the Humanities and Arts.
Winthrop English graduate student Shyanne Hamrick won a competitive South Carolina Humanities scholarship.
Graduate student Faith Rush (Spring 2021) received a fully funded doctoral program offer from UNC Chapel Hill.
Graduate student Lydia Coffey (Spring 2024) received a funded MFA program offer to study at NYU.
Twelve students (a record number) presented their scholarly work at the 2024 Department of English Undergraduate/Graduate Student Research Conference (February 17, 2024).
Ten English majors were inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, our discipline’s honor society.
Graduate students Amber Nelson, Brianna Sharp, and Faith Rush presented papers and research at the 2024 College English Association Conference in Atlanta.
Five English majors presented their research at the 2024 SOURCE research conference.
English major Davyn Osborn won the 1970 Johnsonian Staff Endowed Scholarship ($5,000).
English majors Chloe Thomas, Briceidy Tinoco Najera, and Emmalynne Eshleman were awarded a combined $22,880 in Geraldine Trammell Hurley Fellowship Travel funds.
Winthrop English graduate students and recent English MA graduates Josh Bowers, Jordan Kindig, Josh Mangle, and Madeleine Neff presented papers at the 2023 Southeastern Medieval Association Conference.
Fifteen English majors and graduate students read fiction and poetry at Winthrop Creative Writing Student Showcases.
Graduate students Lydia Coffey, Amber Nelson, and Eleanor Rogers passed their graduate oral comprehensive exams (Lydia and Amber with distinction).
English major alumna Ms. Casey Ferri spoke at the Winthrop University Women and the Law Panel event.
Seven Winthrop English alumni spoke as invited speakers at our Winthrop English Alumni Career Panel.
Undergraduate and graduate English majors published original creative poetry and fiction in The Anthology.
Dr. Leslie Bickford published one book chapter and gave an invited presentation on Southern fiction for the Winthrop Art Galleries.
Ms. AJ Campbell presented a paper at the 2024 College English Association (CEA) Conference.
Dr. Casey Cothran published two book chapters, presented a paper at an academic conference, led an invited literary talk at a Charlotte independent theater, and gave the invited keynote address at the Department of English Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference.
Ms. Amanda Covington was awarded the department’s 2024 Teaching Award and presented at the 2024 CEA Conference.
Dr. Matthew Fike had one academic article published in the Journal of Jungian Scholarly Studies; presented papers at the 2023 Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies Conference and the 2024 CEA Conference; and copy-edited five articles, one “Conversations” piece, one book review, and the editor’s introduction for the 2024 volume of JJSS.
Dr. Devon Fitzgerald served as the invited speaker at our 2023 Department of English Graduate Scholars’ Forum, published two book chapters and one scholarly journal article, and gave three presentations at academic conferences.
Mr. Bryan Ghent led a weekly book club focused on The Hidden History of the JFK Assassination for a group of local seniors, gave a community presentation on “The Facts and Theories of the JFK Assassination,” and served as an invited guest on a local radio talk show to discuss the anniversary of the assassination of JFK.
Dr. Dustin Hoffman was awarded the department’s 2024 Scholarship Award, published nine short stories and one poem in national journals, and was featured as the invited speaker at multiple prestigious reader series. In addition, his fiction was included in “best of the year” anthologies, he had a story win the Ninth Letter fiction contest as “best short story,” and his short story collection Such a Good Man was accepted for forthcoming publication with the University of Wisconsin Press.
Dr. Amanda Hiner won the 2024 Faculty Student Life Award, was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, published two peer-reviewed articles, presented at one academic conference, and gave an invited lecture at Clemson University. In addition, she was one of two primary contributors, along with Dr. Heather Listhartke, to the development of the new English Department Micro-Certificate in Technical Writing.
Dr. Jo Koster was awarded the department’s 2024 Service Award, co-chaired the 2023 Southeastern Medieval Association Conference, completed revisions on a book chapter now in press, published several short encyclopedia articles, published several reviews and a poem, and was one of eight invited speakers at a major symposium for medieval manuscript studies.
Dr. Listhartke created and presented four career-readiness workshops at Winthrop University, presented a paper at an academic conference, published three entries in Keywords in Making: A Rhetorical Primer, and had a proceedings publication in ProComm 2023. In addition, she was one of two primary contributors, along with Dr. Amanda Hiner, to the development of the new English Department Micro-Certificate in Technical Writing.
Dr. Allan Nail gave a presentation at the 2023 NCTE Convention and gave an invited presentation at the Winthrop English Department Banned Book Event.
Dr. Kelly Richardson was named the new Margaret M. Bryant Professor and presented a paper at the 2023 SEMA Conference.
Dr. Ephraim Sommers published one non-fiction essay and completed one forthcoming non-fiction essay (Quarter After Eight, 2025).
