Over the past five years, I have sought out several shared governance and professional development opportunities. After serving as chair of the University Committee (the executive committee of the faculty) I became a fellow in the Big Ten Alliance Academic Leadership program, which gives faculty and staff from the Big Ten the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. That experience will come in handy as I transition to the role of chair of the English Department and also take on the role of Provost Fellow this year. It’s an exciting time to be in this position. Our department has gained more than 10 new faculty members in two years, we competed successfully in the Provost’s cluster hire and target of opportunity hire initiatives, and the number of majors is going up. Forward!
See also: New Chair Q&A for our alumni magazine, Annotations.
