One of the my favorite on-campus events is the annual New
Faculty and Newly Promoted Faculty Reception organized by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This the occasion when we get to meet some of the newly
hired colleagues from across the college and celebrate the accomplishments of some
of those who have been around for a few years. It was very gratifying to see so
many new faces joining the university—there was a healthy amount of hiring last
year and we’re looking forward to more in the coming year. (I’m pleased to say
that our department has two searches just getting under way—one in Writing
Studies and one in Modern and Contemporary African American Literature.)
The Department of English was well represented at the
reception last Tuesday at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. We had
the opportunity to celebrate the promotions of three very deserving colleagues,
all of whom you’ve read about before in this blog. Christopher Freeburg and
Andrea Stevens were promoted to Associate Professor with tenure and Lauren Goodlad was promoted to full Professor of English. These are real landmark
moments in any career. Hearty congratulations to Chris, Andrea, and Lauren!
We also had the opportunity to welcome two new tenure-stream
colleagues. Kelly Ritter joins us from the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro as a full Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Rhetoric
Program. Kelly is an accomplished scholar, a seasoned administrator, and the
editor of an important journal, College
English (about which I’ll have more to say soon). Also joining English is
Sandra Ruiz, whose primary appointment will be in the Department of
Latina/Latino Studies. Sandra received a PhD in Performance Studies from NYU in
2011 and came to Illinois last year as a postdoctoral fellow before starting as
an Assistant Professor this year. We’re thrilled to have both of these scholars
joining us. Welcome, Kelly and Sandra!
I didn’t see Sandra at the reception the other evening, but
here’s an iPhone photo I snapped of Lauren, Chris, Andrea, and Kelly.