Education

Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Composition Studies

M.A.
Northwestern University
American Literature

B.A.
Washington University
English

Courses Taught

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Teaching

Bowie State University Bowie, MD
Professor, English Department
1997 - Present

Courses taught include all levels of freshman composition (developmental through honors); Majors courses including the Modern European Novel, World Literature I, and Contemporary Literature; Graduate courses include Introduction to Rhetoric, Composition Theory and Practice, and Studies in American Autobiography.

University of the District of Columbia Washington, DC
Associate Professor, English Department
1975 - 1997

Courses taught include all levels of freshman composition; Introduction to Literature, American Literature Surveys, Literary Criticism, The Art of the Essay, English Methods for Secondary Teachers (undergraduate); The Composing Process, Interdisciplinary Research Methods, and Writing-across-the-Curriculum (graduate).

The Madeira School McLean, VA
English Department, Grades 9-12
1973 - 1975

Federal City College Washington, DC
Instructor, English Department
1975 - 1997

Director of Composition Program; Coordinator of Writing Program at Satellite Campuses at National Institutes of Health and Health and Human Services.

Directed Thesis Projects

“The Literary Journal of May Miller, Playwright and Poet: A Bio-Bibliography” (2005)
Clement Goddard

“Postmodernism and Sequeitial Text-Image Pairing” (2005)
Bobby G. Bynum, Jr.

“Writer Waiting: Evaluating Freshman Writing with Textual Analysis Tools” (2000)
Mariann Kosub

Poets & Writers

Cover articles and features from Poets & Writers magazine:

BSU Magazine

Articles for Bowie State University and the Bowie State University Magazine include:

  • "State of the Art" (Feature on campus artwork)
    Bowie Sate University 2004 Annual Report (26-31)
  • "Exchanging More than Culture: Kwaku Walker's Commitment to Agona, Ghana" (Winter 2004, 28-32)
  • “Bringing Bowie to ‘the Tipping Point’: A Profile of President Calvin W. Lowe” (spring 2006), 22-31)
  • “The Spirit of Place at BSU” (Winter 2005), 14-15.
  • “Changing the Equation by Degree: A Profile of Alumna Bridget Steele” (Fall 2005), 32-33.

Women in the Arts

Selected feature articles from Women in the Arts:

  • “The Everyday Grace of Naomi Shihab Nye” (Spring 2006), 18-19.
  • “Maxine Hong Kingston’s Literature of Peace." (Fall 2003), 22-23.
  • “Woman on the Shimmering Verge: Introducing Molly Peacock.” (Holiday 2003), 16-17.
  • "Ludmila Ulitskaya" (Spring 2003), 16-17.
  • "Haiti through the Pen and Brush of Marilene Phipps." (Spring 2002), 20-21.
  • "Judy Collins: Both Sides Now and Then." (Fall 2001), 20-23.
  • "Crossing from Vietnam with Lan Cao." (Spring 2001), 12 - 14
  • “Celebrating Roberta Peters.” (Fall 2000), 4-5.
  • "'At Home Nowhere and Everywhere': The Writing Life of Julia Alvarez. (Spring 2000), 10 - 12.
  • "Irresistible Beauty: The Poetry and Person of Rita Dove." (Spring 1999), 6 - 9.
  • “Portrait of Grace Paley.” (Spring 1998), 12 - 14.
  • "Linda Hogan's Perceptual Map of the World." (Winter 1997), 8 - 10.

Additional Featured Articles from Journals & Magazines

  • "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: On Bearing Witness and Winning the Orange Prize", Poets & Writers. August 2007. (Online Exclusive)
  • “Stronger Than Ever at 50: Views of AP from the Front Lines.” The College Board Review. Fall 2005. 14-19.
  • "'The Terrible Days Behind Us and the Uncertain Ones Ahead.'Edwidge Danticat Talks about The Dew Breaker. The Caribbean Writer. 2004.
  • "Sound and Silence: An Interivew with Billy Collins" Advanced Placement Program Professional Development: 2003-2004, Special Topic: Reading Poetry. New York: The College Board, 2004 (3-8)
  • "Pigment: The Spirit of Place." Essay for Gallery Catalog for solo exhibit at Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, Palm Desert, California, 2003.
  • “From Jamaica to Maryland’s Eastern Short: The ‘Enjoyed Word’ of Thelma Thompson” MaComere, Volume 5 (19-28). 2003.
  • Interview with Sandra Cisneros reprinted in Sandra Cisneros in the Classroom: Do Not Forget to Reach by Carol Jago. Published by National Council of the Teachers of English, 2003.
  • "Bearing Witness and Beyond: Edwidge Danticat's Recent Work." The Journal of Haitian Studies, Volume 7, Number 2, pages 6 - 20.
  • "The Present Moment of the Past: Renaissance Paintings of Marcia Myers." Catalog for solo exhibit at the Gail Severn Gallery, Sun Valley, Idaho. 2002.
  • "'A Prayer for Haiti': A Conversation with Writer and Painter, Marilene Phipps" MaComere. Volume 4. 2001. 14 - 24.
    • "The New Voice of a ‘Graceful Lady’: An Interview with Donna Hemans.” MaComere. Volume 3. 2000. 12-19.
  • "'The Hunger to Tell': Edwidge Danticat and the farming of bones." MaComère. Volume 2. 1999. 12 - 22.
  • "Happy and Unhappy Families: A Cross-Cultural Story for Freshman Composition." The National Honors Report. XX.2. Summer 1999. 25 - 28.
  • "'Plenty Mouth' From Jamaica's Opal Palmer Adisa." Crab Orchard Review. 4.1. Fall/Winter 1998. 1 - 13.
  • "Zee Edgell's Home Within." Special Edited Section of Callaloo. 20.3. 1998. 553 - 573.
  • "For Those of Us Who Love Emma: A Portrait of Joan Austen-Leigh." Bookwoman. Summer 1997. 3 - 6.
  • "Interview with Sandra Cisneros." Bookwoman. Winter 1997. 1 - 5.
  • "The Dangerous Job of Edwidge Danticat." Callaloo, 19.2. Spring 1996. 382 - 389.
  • "Teaching the Conflicts." College Prep 13. September 1994. 5 - 9.
  • Women Today. Consulting Editor. Author of series entitled "Washington Women Writing."
    • "The Creative Commitment of Maxine Clair." (May 1997).
    • "Composing the Life of Hilary Tham." (July 1997).
    • ”The Stories Merle Collins Sings.” (October 1997).
    • ”Eloise Greenfield’s Love Affair with Words” (December 1997).
    • ”The Poetic Focus of Jean Nordhaus” (March 1998).
  • Belles Lettres: A Review of Books by Women. Contributing Editor. 1992- 1997. Interviews with Lee Smith, Michelle Cliff, and Edwidge Danticat. Fiction reviews with concentration on Caribbean novelists and American nonfiction writers. Judge for annual essay con.

Books

The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007

Teaching Nonfiction in AP English: A Guide to Accompany 50 Essays (with Larry Scanlon). Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.

Amy Tan in the Classroom: “the art of invisible strength” (with Deborah Wilchek). NCTE, 2005.

Marcia Meyers / Twenty Years: Paintings & Works on Paper 1982-2002.  2004.

Essay: Reading with the Writer’s Eye (co-author, Hans Guth). Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. 1984 (first edition), 1986 (second edition). 

A Practical Rhetoric for College Writers (co-author, Evelyn Taylor). Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. 1980.

Contributed texts include:

Educational Consulting

National Gallery of Art (2001)
Designed and conducted workshops for K-12 teachers entitled “Image into Word: Using Art for Creative Writing.”

National Museum of Women in the Arts (1994 - present)
Advised director of literary series and served as liaison with participating teachers and students in D.C. Public Schools.

Language at Work, Inc. (1992 - 1998)
Designed and conducted training program in written and oral communication. Clients included federal government employees and the Gannett Corporation.

American Council on Education: Program on Non-Collegiate Sponsored Instruction (1991-1996)
Evaluated courses in Communications, English, and Education for the Zaidner Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, and the US Department of Agriculture Graduate School, the Swiss National Bank, and other corporate clients.

District of Columbia Public Schools (1985 - 1999)
Developed and implemented performance-based standards as part of Department of Education Project; participated in Advanced Placement Task Force; conducted in-service training to implement portfolio project; served as a Scholar in the Schools; developed a manual and trained teacher consultants to lead interdisciplinary in-service writing workshops; designed manual and led training sessions for writing coordinators.

Local School Districts (1987 - Present)
Designed and led workshops for teachers of honors, gifted and talented, and advanced placement programs in Washington, DC; Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Calvert and Charles Counties, MD; Erie, PA; Syracuse, NY.

Summer AP Instruction

Graduate Courses for Secondary Teachers Through English or Education Departments:

Bellevue Community Schools (1999)
Bellevue, WA

Oxford University, Worcester College (1996)
Oxford, England

University of Central Florida (1993 - present)
Orlando, FL

Camosun College (1995 - 1996)
Victoria, British Columbia

Fordham University (1993-present)
New York, NY

Manhattan College (1989-2000)
Riverdale, NY

LaSalle University (1990-1998)
Philadelphia, PA

AP English Professional Development Workshop Materials

Editor for English Language and Composition:

  • Rhetoric (2004-2005)
  • Writing Persuasively (2005-2006)

Contributor to English Literature and Composition:

  • “The Writer Embedded in the Story: A Conversation with Jhumpa Lahiri,” The Importance of Tone, 2005-2006
  • “Sound and Silence: An Interview with Billy Collins,” Reading Poetry, 2004-2005

Current National Offices

Guest Editor, 1999 - 2002
MaComere - Journal of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers & Scholars

Chair, 1999 - Present
GED Writing Assessment Committee, American Council on Education

Chair, 1999 - 2001
Committee on Comparative & World Literature, National Council for Teachers of English

Professional Volunteer Experiences

Educational Advisory Committee (2002 - present)
National Museum of Women in the Arts

National Writing Project (1995 - 1999)
Advisory Board for DC Area Project (1997 - 1999)
Chair (1993 - 1996)

The College Board
Guidance and Admission Assembly Council (1994 - 1996)

Network of Educators on the Americas
Board of Directors

Montgomery County Board of Education Title IX Gender Equity Committee (1994 - 1996)

National Council of the Teachers of English (1993 - present)
“Two Memories of War: Gunter Grass and Lan Cao” (2001)
Judge for Outstanding Writing Awards
Executive Committee, Local Chapter (DCCTE)

Legal Writing Institute (1986 - 1988)
Board of Directors

Selected Professional Presentations

Literary Link: A PBS Program to Preview Test GED 2002 (2000)

College English Association Middle Atlantic Group
“International Women Novelists: A Study of Lan Cao” (1999)
Keynote Address: “How the Rest of the World Sees Us: The Image of Teachers in Film” (1990)

Mid-Atlantic Writer’s Association
“‘Historicity in The Farming of Bones” (1998)

College English Association
“The Writings of Lois Ann Yamanaka” (1998)

Advanced Placement Humanities Conference
“Contemporary Caribbean Writers” (1998)

National Public Radio
“Talk of the Nation,” Discussant for Book Talk on Sandra Cisneros (1994)

National Council of the Teachers of English
“Mothers and Daughters across Cultures: The Dream and the Distance” (2000)
“The Search for Identity in Caribbean Literature” (One Day Workshop) (1999)
“Not Only English: The Literature of Pidgin and Creole” (1998)
“Teaching Nonfiction” (One-Day Workshop) (1996)
“Easing the Transition from Middle to High School” (1995)
“Students as Advocates for AP Credit: Strategies beyond the Test” (1994)
“The Nobel Session: Exploring Connections between Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison” (1993)
“Advanced Placement and Multiculturalism: An Emerging Tradition” (1992)

New Directions in Portfolio Assessment
“Portfolios in Freshman Composition: Conflict or Compromise?” (1992)

Popular Culture Association
“A Study in Ambivalence: The Image of Teachers in Film” (1991)

Conference of the National Testing Network in Writing
“Transacting with the LSAT Text: Reading and Writing Connections” (1990)

In-Service Training of English Teachers of Charles County
Keynote Address: “Preparing Students for Life After High School” (1989)

Conference on College Composition and Communication
“Re-visioning Student Research: Presenting the Conversation of Argument” (2000)
“Protocols and Writing Assessment: What They Think We Want” (1987)
“Lawyers Reading Writing: Protocols at the Bar” (1986)
“The LSAT Writing Sample: An Introduction” (1985)
“Helping Students to Color Their Parachutes: Careers and Composition” (1983)
“The Novelist as Interpreter of South Africa’s Culture and Conflict” (1982)

Conference of the Association of American Law Schools
“The LSAT Writing Sample: Purpose and Intent” (1986)

Awards & Honors

  • 2006-2007 Regents’ Faculty Award for Public Service. University System of Maryland.
  • Nominated for Outstanding Women of Bowie State University Recognition Award (2000)
  • Contribution to Excellence in Higher Education (1997) Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Epsilon Rho Chapter
  • Recognition for Distinguished Service (1996) The College Board
  • Faculty Award for Excellence (1996) University of the District of Columbia
  • Merit Scholar (1983 - 1984) University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education
  • NEH Research Fellow (1980 - 1981) National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers: “The Outsider as Interpreter of the Pan-African Tradition: A Study of South African Women Writers”

Professional Memberships