Rebecca S. Blair - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Rebecca S. Blair
Lecturer, Department of Rhetoric
160 English-Philosophy Building 2320 Grand Boulevard
University of Iowa Cedar Falls, IS 50613
Iowa City, IA 52242 319-266-7161 (home)
319-335-0177 319-930-0858 (cell)
rebecca-blair@uiowa.edu orange326@yahoo.com
Education
Ph.D., with distinction, Indiana University, Rhetoric/Composition, American
Studies (1988)
M.A., with distinction, University of Illinois at Springfield, Medieval Studies
(1982)
B.A., summa cum laude, University of Indianapolis, English (1980)
Faculty Appointments
University of Iowa, Department of Rhetoric:
Lecturer, 2012-present
Rhetoric, First Year Seminar
Wartburg College, Departments of English and History:
Professor in Residence of Liberal Studies, 2006-2011
Senior Lecturer, Department of English, 2003-200
19 th and 20 th century American Literature and Culture, American
Literature Surveys, First Year Seminar, Women Writers and Cultural
Experience, Views of Human Nature Seminar, African-American
Literary Expression, Writing and Thinking in the Medical World,
Spiritual Autobiography (graduate course at Wartburg Seminary),
Introduction to Literary Study, Intermediate Composition, Iowa
History, American Women’s History, African-American History,
Historiography
University of Indianapolis, Department of English:
Associate Faculty, Department of English, 2000-2003
American Literary Surveys, Women Writers, Intermediate and
Advanced Composition
Westminster College (Missouri), Department of English:
Associate Professor and Chair, Department of English, 1997-2000
Assistant Professor, Department of English, 1989-1996
19 th and 20 th Century American Literature and Culture, American
Romanticism, American Realism, Early American Literary Culture,
Women Writers and Literary Culture, Early and Modern World
Literatures, African-American Literary Expression, The Harlem
Renaissance, Native-American Literary Cultures, Introduction to
Literary Study, Intermediate and Advanced Composition

Webster University, Department of English:
Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature, 1988-1989
Early and Modern World Literatures (graduate seminar), Classical
Myth and Literature (graduate seminar), The Bible as Literature,
Intermediate Composition
Indiana University, Department of English, Department of English and Center for
English Language Training:
Graduate Teaching Fellow, 1982-1988
Introduction to Literature, Introduction to Fiction, Introduction to
Poetry, Early American Literature, Freshman Composition, Writing for ESL Study
Teaching Awards
Buschman Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, Westminster College, 1997
Panhellenic Award for Teaching Excellence, Westminster College, 1996
Outstanding Faculty Member, Westminster College, 1992
Academic Leadership Experience
Director of Integrative Studies, Wartburg College, 2006-2011
Director of the First Year Seminar, Wartburg College, 2005-2011
Chair, Department of English, Westminster College, 1997-2000
Director of Writing Assessment, Westminster College, 1990-2000
Assistant Director, Writing Center, Indiana University, 1984-1985
Consultant Experience
National Advisory Board, COMPASS Reading and Writing, ACT, 2012-present
Peer Reviewer and Consultant, Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ), The
Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and
Universities, 2005-present
Peer Reviewer and Systems Appraiser, Academic Quality Improvement Program,
(AQIP), The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Universities, 2005-present
Consultant Evaluator, SAT Writing Essay, Pearson Education, 2005-2008
Consultant to SEAM Project, (collaborative project among the Indiana State Department
of Public Instruction, master high school teachers across Indiana, and higher
education consultants to address transition from high school to college study, funded
by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., 2001-2003
Consultant to CD-ROM Assessment Project, Pepperdine University, 1995

Grants and Fellowships
Essential Education Grant, curricular development of First Year Seminar, Wartburg
College, 2008-2010
Fellow, Oxford Round Table, Lincoln College, Oxford, 2006
Institutional Grant, Lilly Foundation, Inc., Crossings Project at the University of
Indianapolis, 2002-2003
Buschman Teaching and Research Grant, Westminster College (MO), 1998
Participant, American Council on Education National Identification Program (ACE-
NIP), 1992
Kellogg Foundation Grant, Wakonse Conference on Teaching, 1990
Publications
“Reading the Mission: An Interdisciplinary Model to Sustain First-Year Study.” Best
Practices in Common Reading Programs: Creation, Implementation, Assessment.
Ed. Staci Stone. (Under consideration from Jossey-Bass).
“A Mission-Driven First-Year Seminar.” Co-authored with Lake Lambert. A Collection of
Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2006. Volume 1—The future-
Focused Organization: Organizational Distinctiveness and Effectiveness. Chicago:
The Higher Learning Commission, 19-22.
Lost and Found Narratives of Education for Service [oral history project]. Co-authored
with Michael Cartwright and James Fuller. University of Indianapolis Press, 2006.
“The Westminster Writing Assessment Program: A Model for Small Colleges.”
Proceedings of the 45 th Annual Conference on College Composition and
Communication, Nashville, TN (also published as ERIC listing ED374449), 1994.
“Pattern Analysis.” Reaching Adult Learners with Whole Language Strategies. Eds.
Tirza Kroeker and Margaret Henrichs. New York: Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.,
1993.
“Ring Lardner,” Encyclopedia of American Humorists. Ed. Steven H. Gale. New York:
Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988.
Conference Presentations
“Orange EXCELeration: How First-Year Orientation Can Use WAC to Bridge College
Community Boundaries” (with Sonja Lynch). Ninth Biennial 2008 International
Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, The University of Texas at Austin, May
29-31, 2008.
“Critical Inquiry and Cross-Disciplinary Literacies as Instruments for Knowledge
Construction.” General Education and Assessment: Creating Shared Responsibility

for Learning Across the Curriculum, American Association of Colleges and
Universities, 2005.
“Portfolios and All That Jazz: Writing Assessment as Institutional Palimpsest.” National
Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 2004.
“Transformative Assessment: A Language-Relation Paradigm of Principled Practice.”
Conference on College Composition and Communication, New York City, NY, 2003.
“Priming the Pump: Exposing Hidden Assumptions and Identifying Explicit Perceptions
in Beginning Composition.” Windows and Mirrors: Connecting Reading, Writing
and Reflection, 21 st Annual Conference of the Indiana Teachers of Writing, 2001.
“Writing Across the Disciplines for Learning Excellence.” Windows and Mirrors:
Connecting Reading, Writing and Reflection, 21 st Annual Conference of the Indiana
Teachers of Writing, 2001.
“Portfolio Assessment Programs and Faculty Values: An Administrative Perspective.”
Conference on College Composition and Communication, Milwaukee, WI, 1995.
“Truths Shared Are Truths Multiplied: Using Portfolio Assessment to Transcend
Institutional Boundaries.” Conference on College Composition and Communication,
Milwaukee, WI, 1995.
“Portfolio Literacies: Responding to a Changing Environment.” Conference on College
Composition and Communication, Washington, D.C., 1994.
“Academic Writing: Past Attitudes, Current Approaches, and New Directions for
Research.” Missouri Philological Association Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, 1992.
“The Not-So-Basic Writer: Research to Respond to a Changing Student Population.”
Missouri Philological Association Annual Conference, Branson, MO, 1990.
“William Wordsworth and the Age of Romanticism.” Keynote Address. Wordsworth
and the Age of Romanticism Symposium, Churchill Memorial at Westminster
College, 1990.
Institutional Service
University of Iowa:
Accreditation Planning Committee (Office of the Provost)
Student Success Pilot (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Chair, Lecturer Search Committee (Department of Rhetoric)
Wartburg College:
Faith Task Force, Commission on Mission Strategic Planning Initiative
Editor, Institutional Accreditation Self-Study for the Higher Learning Commission of
the North Central Association

Dean’s Council
Council of Chair and Directors
Self-Study Steering Committee
General Education Committee
Institutional Search Committees
Westminster College:
Council of Chairs and Directors
Executive Committee of the Faculty
College Budget Committee
Chair, Professional Standards Committee
Personnel Committee
Chair, Assessment Committee
Editor, Institutional Accreditation Self-Study for the Higher Learning Commission of
the North Central Association
Chair, Institutional Curriculum Task Force
First-Year Seminar Task Force
Enrollment Services Task Force
Faculty Parliamentarian
Institutional Search Committees
Professional Memberships
American Association of Colleges and Universities
Modern Language Association
Writing Program Administrators
American Studies Association
Association for Integrative Studies
National Council of Teachers of English
College Composition and Communication
Other Distinctions
Marquis Who’s Who in the World, 2000-present
Marquis Who’s Who in America, 2002-present
Marquis Who’s Who Among American Women, 1998-present
Marquis Who’s Who in the Midwest, 1998-present