A Feast of Words - Fall 2006 - Department of English - Virginia Tech

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Join the Conversation: You Can Make a Difference Your gift to the English Department is important to the students we serve. Your generosity assists us in providing scholarships for deserving and accomplished undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, your gifts help support student programs and activities that enhance curricular education. Please join the growing circle of alumni and friends who collectively are making a difference with a gift by visiting www.givingto.vt.edu (specify “English Department”) or by mailing in the form below. If you would like more information about assisting with our student scholarship and education programs through a bequest, estate/trust, or outright gift, please contact Tysus Jackson, Director of Development, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at tysusj@vt.edu, direct 540-231-8734, or toll-free 866-261-4443. Thank you to the following alumni and friends for their recent gifts and pledges to the English Department (as of June 30, 2006): Patrons $5,000+ Alfred E. Knobler Sponsors $1,000+ Anonymous Robert Arthur James & Carol Hoge Robert & Theresa Lazo Darrel T. Mason Lucinda Roy & Larry Jackson State Farm Companies Foundation Eileen P. Stoner Friends $250+ Anonymous Frankie Bailey Heather Barker-Church James Beckner Earving Blythe Gerald Canaan Thomas & Carol Gemmell Friends, cont. Sandy Hagman William C. Hankla Donna Mitchell Marjorie Modlin Philip & Janet Morrison Carole Nickerson Johann Norstedt Robert Patzig Raliegh F. Seay, Jr. Donors $1 - $249 Arthur Bales Jennifer Bay Jay Bland Jennifer L. Butlin Janet & Jimmy Buttram Lester Gerald Carter Albert & Leisa Ciaffone Jack E. Conn Clara Cox Donors, cont. Ty & Cynthia Davidson Lisa Derx Charles & Deborah Epes Marne & George DeVaughn Larry Elovich Brian T. Ferrenz Charles D. Fisher, Jr. Rex A. Gearheart Thomas & Carol Gemmell Nikki Giovanni Global Impact Sara Goodwin Cynthia Hamelmann Patty & Sandy Harmon Delores Hodge Lauren Smith Johnson David & Joann Jones Kim B. Kennedy Donors, cont. Nathan Kilgore Peter & Sugar Kipp Rachel Laudadio Dennis R. Mohr, II Joseph P. Monoski Virginia & Randy Morton Kelleigh N. Moyer Amy Musser Widner Jeremy Olson Patricia P. Olson James Owen Rebecca Ratliff Kimberly L. Richards-Thomas George Rhodes Beth Rossi Carolyn & Donald Rude Evelyn Rupp Robin Ruth David Rutkowski Donors, cont. John & Rita Schafer Angela M. Schneider Jean Skelton Ernest Sullivan Rebecca G. Taylor Peter & Vicki Thompson Sabrina Tuttle Paige & Richard Ware William & Kathleen Weikart Charles Wilson T. Guy Wilson Dale Winship Join the Con ver sa tion Yes, I want to join the conversation and make a difference for our students! Patrons (over $5,000) Sponsors (up to $5,000) Friends (up to $1,000) Donors (up to $250) Name: _________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Degree(s): _________________ E-mail: ___________________________ Phone: _____________________________ Check enclosed, payable to VT Foundation memo line: English Department Credit card: V M D AMEX Card #: _____________________________________ Exp. Date: __________ Initials: ________________ Please return to: Virginia Tech Foundation 201 Pack Building (0336) Blacksburg, VA 24061 A Matching Gift Form from my company is enclosed. I have included Virginia Tech in my will, trust, or estate plans. Please send me in for ma tion about the Virginia Tech Legacy Society and how I may consider including Virginia Tech as part of my charitable bequest or estate plans. 14 www.givingto.vt.edu A Feast of Words
From the Distinguished Alumni Board: Lisa Marlene Derx Are English majors made or born? In my case – well – a little of both. As I was the middle of five children born within six years, my mother was pleased to find even before I turned two that I could entertain myself quite well if handed a book or magazine. That early exposure to the printed page gave way to a childhood filled with reading. In those halcyon days, my mother would drop us off at the county library every Friday for an hour or two. Summer was especially enjoyable, as, freed from the schedule of school, I spent hours and hours of the hot days reading book after book, never tiring, never reaching surfeit. Once, I overheard my parents debating whether I was reading too quickly to retain any knowledge of what I read. Shortly after, they called me into the kitchen and questioned me about the latest book I had read through in one day. Happily, I passed the pop quiz and was allowed to read unfettered ever more. Yet, despite my love of reading, when it came time to select a major, I chose Education. Reading and writing were fun to me, so, of course, it didn’t seem serious enough for my major. The year I entered Virginia Tech, I was required to take only one quarter of Honors English – we were on trimesters then – and that was it for my college career. Thanks to Professor Jim Owens, I enjoyed the class immensely. So, while registering for class for the next term, I randomly selected an English class - American Literature of the 19 th Century for Winter Quarter 1984, taught by Nancy Metz. January through March in Blacksburg was cold and so dreary that year, but Dr. Metz kept the class lively with close readings and debates about books written centuries before. So it was while reading and discussing works like Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser and The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper that I began to understand that I needed to be an English major. Dr. Metz taught us to analyze, to probe, to dig deeper for meaning. These lessons, I realized, could be applied to any endeavor, and I soon changed my major to English. I have never regretted my decision to spend those years studying English. The glory of my junior year at Virginia Tech was Dr. Metz introducing me to Middlemarch, a novel that enriches my life even now. So, it is perhaps fitting to finish this story with the words of George Eliot, who said, “What we have been makes us what we are.” What I am, always, is an English Major, thanks to happenstance of birth and the inspired teaching of Dr. Metz. Alumni Notes Marion Stafford Butterworth (B.A. 1979) is a freelance writer and the editor of Washington Home and Garden magazine. She recently retired as an associate editor at Harris Publications. Marion lives in Clifton, VA. Peter J. Donahue (M.A. 1990) won the Langum Prize for Historical Fiction in recognition of his debut novel, Madison House. Michael Germana (B.A. 1994, M.A. 2000) has accepted a tenure-track position at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Debra (Debbi) Cartwright Meade (B.A. 1977, M.S. 1994) is the director of advertising for The Roanoke Times in Roanoke, VA. Allan Wolf (B.A. 1985, M.A. 1988) is a writer in Asheville, NC. His recent novel in verse, New Found Land, which tells the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an IRA Children's Book Award Notable. His most recent book, Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life, was published in April by Lark Press and was a Children's Book of the Month selection. We Want To Hear From You! Our newsletter will continue to feature ar ti cles and notes about our English De part ment alumni/alum nae. We would ap pre ci ate in for - ma tion about what you have been doing since leaving Virginia Tech. Please send material to feastofwords@vt.edu or A Feast of Words, Department of English, 323 Shanks Hall (0112), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Name: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Degree/Year:_______________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________ Home Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Occupation/Title: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Professional Duties: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Recent Awards, Grants, Hon ors, Etc.: _____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Most Influential Professor or Instructor: ___________________________________________________________________________ Other News and/or Story Idea: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fall 2006 15
Page 1 and 2: The Department of English Newslette
Page 3 and 4: In Memoriam: Dr. Charles Modlin by
Page 5 and 6: sional life. Inquiry, the first nav
Page 7 and 8: think of numerous reasons to take t
Page 9 and 10: Graduate Student Conference: With P
Page 11 and 12: A Celebration of Students, March 30
Page 13: All Write @Virgnia Tech 2006 by Enn

A Feast of Words - Fall 2006 - Department of English - Virginia Tech

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