Dr. Jean Smith Filetti - Christopher Newport University

Point of Contact:
Department of English
Christopher Newport University
Newport News, VA 23606
Telephone: (757) 594-7954
Email: filetti@cnu.edu
Education
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Jean Smith Filetti
Associate Professor of English
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Toledo, Toledo, OH. Degree awarded December 1981, with
an emphasis in American literature and a minor in American history.
Dissertation: Harold Frederic's Political Pessimism.
Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Toledo, Toledo, OH. Degree awarded December 1977.
Bachelor of Science (B.S., cum laude), Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, PA. Degree awarded
December 1974.
Professional and Scholarly Publications
“Assessing Service in Faculty Reviews: Mentoring Faculty and Developing Transparency.” Mentoring
and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning (Forthcoming in 2009).
“Jewish Assimilation: Education Gatekeeping in the Short Fiction of Anzia Yezierska and Myra Kelly.”
Studies in American Jewish Literature. (Forthcoming in 2009).
“Assessing Service: Developing Transparency in Annual Reviews.” The Department Chair 18.4 (Spring
2008): 20-22.
“Global Collaboration and Technical Writing: Building Collaborative Service-Learning Opportunities for
Students.” International Journal of the Humanities 5.2 (2007):115-120.
“Crisis in the Academy: Humanity Studies Are Not an Educational Luxury.” International Journal of
Learning 12.3 (Fall 2006): 237-242.
“From Lizzie Borden to Lorena Bobbitt: Violent Women and Gendered Justice.” Journal of American
Studies 35 (December 2001): 471-484.
“Writing for Nonprofit Organizations: A Classroom Without Walls.” Academic Exchange Quarterly 5.4
(Winter 2001): 179-184.

“Teaching Virginia’s Technical Writing SOLs: Developing Workplace Literacy.” Virginia English Bulletin
50.1 (Spring 2000): 29-33.
“Michael Wigglesworth’s Use of Gospel Parables in The Day of Doom.” The Explicator 58.3 (Spring
2000): 127-130.
SOL Analysis Grades 1-5: Mathematics, Science, English, History & Social Science. Richmond, VA:
Virginia Education Association, 2000. Contributed SOL 1.14, 2.11, 3.10, 4.9, and 5.8.
“From Lizzie Borden to Lorena Bobbitt: Violent Women of the 1890s and 1990s.” Published in
Anticipating the End: The Experiences of the Nineties. Proceedings from the Virginia Humanities
Conference, 1999.
An Examination of Political Pessimism in the Works of American Novelist Harold Frederic, 1865-1898.
Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd., 1998.
“The Continuous Revolution: A Collaborative Model for Writing Program Assessment” published in
Proceedings: 11th Annual Conference on Student Assessment. Co-authored with Douglas Gordon
and Roark Mulligan.
“The Damnation of Theron Ware: A Denial of the Turner Thesis.” Published in On Writers and Writing.
Proceedings from the Virginia Humanities Conference, 1996.
Research and Writing: A Defense Intelligence College Guide. Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence
Agency, 1992. Co-authored with James S. Major.
Wordshops. Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence Agency, 1992. Co-authored with James S. Major.
“‘Type’-Writing: Helping Students Write with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.” Writing Lab Newsletter
15.4 (December 1990): 4-10.
“The ‘Goophered’ Parable: Uncle Julius' Biblical Teachings.” Explicator 48.3 (Spring 1990): 201-203.
Research and Writing Notes. Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence College, 1990.
Research and Writing Form, Style & Usage. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1989. Coauthored
with James S. Major.
“Seth's Brother's Wife: The Triumph of the Political Machine.” American Literary Realism 21.3 (Spring
1989): 41-51.
Communicating Intelligence. Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence College, 1987. Co-authored with
James S. Major and Natalie Michta.
Instructor's manual for Windows: An Anthology of Literature. Ed. Elizabeth Steele. Toledo, OH:
University of Toledo Press, 1978.
Paper Presentations
“Assessing Service: Mentoring Faculty and Developing Transparency.” Paper delivered at the Academic
Chairpersons Conference (Orlando, Florida), February 2009.
“Going Global: Service Learning and Interdiscipinary Collaboration.” Paper delivered at the International
Conference on New Directions in the Humanities (Paris, France), July 2007.
“History of the Virginia Humanities Conference.” Paper and panel presentation co-delivered with Peggie

Barker (Ferrum) and Susan Blair-Green (Mary Baldwin) at the Virginia Humanities Conference,
March 2007.
“Incorporating Service Learning into Technical Writing Programs.” Paper co-delivered with Rebecca
Barclay at the 53 rd Society for Technical Communication Conference (Las Vegas, Nevada), May
2006.
“Crisis in the Academy: Liberal Learning Is Not an Educational Luxury.” Paper delivered at the Twelfth
International Conference on Learning (Granada, Spain), July 2005.
“’Every Woman Can[not] be won’: Female Rejection of David Levinsky.” Paper delivered at the Jewish
American and Holocaust Literature Conference (Boca Raton, Florida), October 2005.
“Technology and the Marginalized: Empowering Women in the Bush in Kenya.” Paper delivered at the
2005 Virginia Humanities Conference, March 2005.
“Jewish Assimilation: Educational Gatekeepers in the Short Fiction of Anzia Yezierska and Myra Kelly.”
Paper delivered at the Jewish American and Holocaust Literature Conference (Boca Raton,
Florida), October 2003.
“Crisis in the Academy?: A Defense of Christopher Newport University’s Budget Cuts.” Paper delivered at
the 2003 Virginia Humanities Conference, April 2003.
“From Lizzie Borden to Lorena Bobbitt: Violent Women and Gendered Justice.” Paper delivered at the
2001 V Congreso de las Americas (University of the Americas, Puebla, Mexico), October 2001.
“Reflections of White Xenophobia in Short Fiction of the Early 1900s.” Paper delivered at the American
Literature Association Conference, May 2001.
“Writing for Nonprofit Organizations: A Classroom without Walls.” Paper delivered at the Virginia
Humanities Conference, March 2001.
“Images of the Gatekeeper in Short Fiction of the Early 1900s: A Reflection of White Xenophobia.” Paper
delivered at MELUS 2000 conference, March 2000.
“From Lizzie Borden to Lorena Bobbitt: Violent Women of the 1890s and 1990s.” Paper delivered at the
Virginia Humanities Conference, March 1999.
“The Damnation of Theron Ware: A Denial of the Turner Thesis.” Paper delivered at the American
Literature Association, May 1998.
Book Reviews
Situations of Writing for Pearson Education (2009).
Keys for Writers (by Ann Raimes) for Wadsworth/Cengage Learning (2009).
Henry James’s Bostonians: An American Tale and the Idea of Boston (by Elaine Pigeon) for the Edwin
Mellen Press, 2008.
Writing Logically, Thinking Critically (by Cooper and Patton) for Longman Publishers, 2008.
DK Handbook (by Wysocki and Lynch) for Pearson Allyn & Bacon/Longman Publishers, 2008.
Communicating with Intelligence: Writing and Briefing in the Intelligence and National Security
Communities (by James S. Major) for Scarecrow Press, 2007.

Human Side of Organizations (by Michael Drafke) for Prentice Hall (2004).
Grants
“Proposal for the Inclusion of Christopher Newport University as a Partner in the Chesapeake Watershed
Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit”—submitted August 2009
York River Symphony ($10,000 from the Irene Leache Memorial Foundation)—2005
Norfolk Interfaith Partnership Program ($20,000 from the Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfaire
—VIEW)—2004
Association of Gymnastics Parents, Inc. and Excalibur Gymnastics ($25,000 from the Virginia Beach
Foundation)—2002
Consulting Work and Presentations
“ABCs of Grant Writing.” Three-hour workshop on grant writing for the City of Newport News. June
2009, November 2008, May 2008, March 2008, January 2007, October 2007, and December 2006.
“Grant Writing: Theory and Practice.” Six-hour workshop in grant writing for the City of Norfolk.
November 2008, October 2007, April 2007, March 2007, February 2006, September 2004, June 2004,
February 2004, November 2003, September 2003, June 2003, April 2003, February 2003, November 2002,
September 2002, August 2002, April 2002, June 2001, and May 2001.
“Grant Writing for Teachers.” Three-hour workshop in grant writing for the Teacher Advisory Group of
Hampton Roads, June 16, 2007.
“Advanced Grant Writing.” Three-hour workshop in grant writing for the City of Norfolk. May 2008, May
2007, April 2007, March 2006, May 2005, March 2005, November 2004, July 2004, and April 2004.
“Writing Grants for City Employees.” Six-hour workshop in grant writing for the City of Norfolk, Office
of Grants Development. June 2005 and May 2005. The June workshop was for law enforcement officers
only.
Guest on TV 48’s Norfolk Perspectives. The program addressed the grant writing consulting work I do for
the City of Norfolk and aired on August 23, 2004.
“Writing Successful Grants.” City of Norfolk Grants Symposium. February 19, 2004.
“Technically-Write: Guidelines for Effectively Reporting Information.” Annual Volunteer Conference.
Christopher Newport University, June 2002 and June 2001.
“Principles of Grant Writing.” University of Virginia, Virginia Institute of Government, August 14, 2002.
“Grant Writing.” Center for Community Learning. Christopher Newport University, March 2002,
November 2001, March 2001, and October 2000.
“Grant Writing—Researching Sources of Funding.” New Strategies for the Arts Conference. Christopher
Newport University, May 2000.
“Grant Writing: Theory and Practice.” Office of Continuing Education & Special Programs. Christopher
Newport University, October 1999 and October 1998.
“Writing a Challenge Grant.” Newport News Arts Commission. September 1998.

Conference Attendance
Association of Departments of English Summer Seminar, June 2008, West Virginia University.
Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences Chairs Conference, October 2007, San Diego, CA.
Modern Language Association Conference, December 2005, Washington, DC.
Virginia Humanities Conference, March 2006, University of Mary Washington. Moderator for session on
“Moral Codes in Literature.”
Spilman Symposium on Issues in Teaching Writing, October 2005, Virginia Military Institute.
Professional Experience
Associate Christopher Newport University, Newport News, VA. August 1995 to present.
Professor
Courses Taught: Freshman Composition (English 101, 102, 103H, 104H, 123H), ULLC
223, American Literature (English 342), Writing for Business and the Professions
(English 353), Writing for Nonprofit Organizations (English 355), Advanced Grammar
(English 430), Senior Seminar (English 490), Teaching Literature (English 501), and
Applied Technical Writing (English 525).
Committee Work: Budget Advisory Committee (Chair), Faculty Senate, Faculty
Grievance Committee, Freshman Composition Committee, English Department Search
Committee, Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Committee (Chair), College of Liberal Arts
Nominations Committee, Academic Status Committee (Chair), and General Education
Council (Chair of Subcommittee on Writing-Intensive Courses). Direct Technical
Writing Concentration. Promoted to Associate Professor and awarded tenure April 2002.
Administrative Fellowship in the College of Arts and Sciences (2005-2006)
Chair, Department of English (July 2007 to present)
Instructor Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach, VA. August 1994 to May 1995.
Taught composition and literature courses.
English George C. Marshall High School, Falls Church, VA. February 1993 to February
Teacher 1994.
Taught Gifted and Talented English (grades 10 and 11), senior English, creative writing,
and advanced composition. Sponsor for literary magazine and National Honor Society.
Outstanding Former Teacher of the Year (awarded at commencement June 13, 1995)
Faculty Defense Intelligence College, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC,
June 1987 to February 1993.
Assistant to the Director of Research and Writing and advisor to the Postgraduate
Intelligence Program. Developed off-site educational materials and resident course
materials in intelligence writing and briefing. Edited the Defense Intelligence Journal
Taught graduate research, writing, and analysis. Provided writing instruction in the
undergraduate program. Provided instruction in the writing of intelligence products:
analytical and estimative intelligence studies, executive summaries, and
recommendation reports. Wrote, edited, and published books and articles about research,
writing, and briefing.

Instructor Andrews Air Force Base, MD, November 1991 to July 1992.
Taught military personnel the principles of clarity, conciseness, and correctness of Air
Force technical writing.
Instructor American University, Washington, DC, September 1983 to December 1986, and
July 1987 to May 1993.
Taught composition, honors English, literature.
Assistant United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, January 1987 to June 1987.
Professor
Taught composition.
English Ashley Hall School, Charleston, SC, September 1980 to May 1983.
Teacher
Head of English Department, taught Advanced Placement English, English (grades 10
and 12), director of drama.
Instructor College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, September 1980 to May 1982.
Taught composition and literature.
English James Island Middle School, Charleston, SC, March 1980 to June 1980.
Teacher
Taught English (grade 8).
English Holy Spirit Seminary, Toledo, OH, September 1978 to June 1979.
Teacher
Taught English (grade 11).
English McAuley High School, Toledo, OH, January 1978 to June 1978.
Teacher
Taught composition (grade 12).
English Smethport Area Junior-Senior High School, September 1975 to June 1976.
Teacher
Taught English (grades 7, 10, and 11).