External Review of the Department of English (Fall 2023)

Loren Glass, University of Iowa | Robert Markley, University of Illinois (chair) | Christa Olson, University of Wisconsin

The English department plays an enormous role in the University’s general education curriculum, ​overseeing the required public speaking course and the first-year composition program as well as ​offering a larger number of intensive writing courses. ... As at many peer institutions, these courses are ​primarily taught by graduate students, overseen by a mix of tenure-line and non-tenure-line faculty ​administrators. These administrators have a massive, essential, and multi-faceted responsibility, the ​elements of which can sometimes be in conflict with one another. Most notably, maintaining consistency ​of outcomes and a high quality of educational experience for undergraduates enrolled in these courses ​requires intensive training and support for Graduate Student Instructors. The multi-section teaching ​programs, coordinated by the Director of Undergraduate Teaching [Professor Rodak], have developed a ​robust set of tools for managing these two essential responsibilities. The orientation and on-going ​training provided for SAAs in the English department appears to be of exemplary quality, and the ​revisions made since 2019*—including exceptional documentation as well as reorganized training and ​enhanced communication—assuredly advance the mission of high-quality undergraduate education and ​excellent professional development for instructors.

* This refers to the program reforms I initiated and led when I joined the department in August 2019

Annual Report ​for the Department of English (Fall 2023)

Michael Adams, Chair | Monique Morgan, A​ssociate Chair

Obviously, the key element of our graduate students’ role in the department’s undergraduate teaching ​mission is in the teaching of writing, especially but not exclusively introductory composition. Although ​it’s a nearly impossible task, Professor Miranda Rodak heroically tries to ensure students opportunities ​to teach beyond [Composition], sometimes in ... Professional Writing Skills, Advanced Expository ​Writing, or Introduction to Fiction and other introductory genre courses ... Professor Rodak has also ​recently developed ENG-W241: Collaborative Digital Writing, which besides being a very forward-looking ​course provides some opportunity for Ph.D. students to teach in a setting different from introductory ​composition ... ENG-W171 is a topical alternative to the more general “regular” version of ENG-W131, ​with a complementary focus on digital literacy and inquiry. The course (again, as conceived by Professor ​Rodak) entails faculty supervision of a group of graduate student instructors in a digital laboratory ​setting. ... Currently, or perhaps more accurately, over the last few years, Professors Rodak and Terrill ​have been in discussion with various units (Luddy [School of Informatics], O’Neill [School of Public and ​Environmental Affairs) about establishing writing/rhetoric minors that would include English department ​courses.

External Reviews of Dr. Rodak’s Promotion Dossier (2022)

Reviewer 1, Department of English, University of Vermont

Over the course of my career so far, I’ve probably written 25-30 letters for tenure and/or promotion cases. ​Rarely has it been such a pleasure to prepare one. Not only has Miranda Rodak demonstrated her ​excellence as a classroom teacher, graduate student instructor mentor, and writing program ​administrator, she has demonstrated a keen devotion to developing systems that serve students, ​instructors, institutions and communities alike. What a joy it has been to review her work. Rodak’s ​dossier abounds with evidence that she is on a trajectory of continued development as a ​teacher/administrator/mentor/scholar; she is current with the growth of our field and in fact her work ​contributes to emerging best practices in the field. ... [Rodak’s work] is driven by a powerful yet simple ​focus on transparency, recursiveness, and context. The constant in Rodak’s work is the creation of ​systems that let students and instructors alike grow into sophisticated understandings of the demands of ​college writing. ... Programmatically speaking, Rodak’s work takes the strengths of her classroom ​teaching to scale. Every part of her administrative work exudes transparency and recursiveness that ​creates a powerful context for learning. Her program structures (curriculum, course guides, websites, and ​other planning documents) serve the graduate students, post-docs, and other faculty she works with—​and indirectly, the students who take IU’s various general education writing courses. Her program ​documents model the values that drive life-long learning. They are transparent about their choices, and ​encouraging of their readers. Rodak excels at explaining curricular structures in ways that create stable ​connections across multi-section courses while creating space for individual instructors to develop their ​own approaches. Her curriculum guides and websites alike model for other instructors how to connect ​with student audiences, and they create supportive teaching communities that emphasize shared ​outcomes. Rodak knows how to shape a program by inviting colleagues to join in professional ​conversations that are structured around shared ideas and practices. ... Rodak’s work is useful and ​inspirational. ... She sees opportunity everywhere: she has applied her strengths to revising the W131-​basic writing curriculum as well as creating new courses like W241 or new processes for the W170 ​proposal process. She lifts up what’s working; she sees potential for new developments; she makes ​things happen. ... With a care for the individual that is conveyed in small interpersonal interactions as ​well as broader institutional statements, Rodak recognizes the often fragile humanity of everyone ​involved in the writing program, in every role, and her compassionate, intelligent approach supports ​learning and growth even in the hardest of times. It’s rare that this combination of emotional, ​disciplinary, and pedagogical strengths come together with such synergy. ... Rodak has a stunning

amount of connection with other institutional initiatives and priorities, the sort of administrative savvy ​that often takes much more time to develop. Rodak has a singular gift for connecting the writing courses ​in the IUB English department to the general education initiative, to the state’s interest in career ​development, to personal career goals for individuals, to connections across campuses. She is connected ​with your service learning and teaching excellence centers. She has truly embedded the writing program ​into the heart of the campus’ commitment to help students grow into thoughtful and engaged citizens. ​Rodak’s work is ambitious. She’s not afraid to tackle huge tasks, and she does so with a rare combination ​of humility and force. Her curriculum revision documents demonstrate that she is capable of radical ​revision that communicates complete faith in the teaching community. Her guidance provides stability ​and support while inviting fellow teachers to embrace a new paradigm that suits our moment. She has ​managed to completely overhaul the curriculum, institute ever-deepening attention to multimedia ​composing, with an open administrative style that builds community. ...Rodak’s gift as an administrator ​is the creation of structures and systems and institutional connections that can outlive any single person ​in a role. ... The breadth of my experiences as an academic administrator given me an excellent ​perspectve for seeing the brilliance in Rodak’s portfolio. She is a teacher-scholar of the highest caliber.

External Reviews of Dr. Rodak’s Promotion Dossier (2022)

Reviewer 2, Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies, University of Utah​

Professor Rodak is clearly committed to pedagogy and remains active in seeking out opportunities to not ​only continue developing her own expertise, but to also contribute to the pedagogical growth of others. ​... Her position as Director of Undergraduate Teaching is a critical work position as she is responsible for ​instruction in the large FYC course, where many incoming instructors have varied levels of teaching ​experience. The responsibilities associated with this particular position exceed those at other ​institutions, where budget, enrollment management, and staffing course sections are often not included ​in official duties but are shared among different parties. She has demonstrated leadership abilities ​across multiple venues, but in particular, she took on a challenge at the onset of the pandemic ​supporting the development of online courses. Professor Rodak’s expertise in the digital is exceptional. ​... In reading her file, it is evident that she contributes to the department, college, and university in ​multiple ways through the courses she teaches and in her service. She appears to be a sought-after ​faculty member across campus and all letters written in support of her promotion (and there were ​many!), display a high level of respect and gratitude. ... many letters spoke of her as a compassionate ​instructor, interested in their well-being. Yet, others focused on her ability to grow their writing skills. All ​in some way attributed their success to her. Graduate students praised her expertise and patience in ​working with them, supporting their efforts in the classroom. Letters from colleagues demonstrated ​authentic warmth in their description of her contributions in course and program development, as well as​ on committees. My sense is that once she sets out to do something, Professor Rodak accomplishes it –​ with an abundance of knowledge, insight, and forward-thinking.​

External Reviews of Dr. Rodak’s Promotion Dossier (2022)

Reviewer 3, Department of English, Ball State University​

The work of writing program administration (WPA) combines scholarship, teaching, and service. ... In ​particular, three areas of WPA work stood out to me in Prof. Rodak’s file: curricular design, faculty ​development, and program-related textual production. In terms of WPA work, W171 is an important ​example of a redesign of a composition course to focus on digital writing. Mulitmodal writing and digital ​projects such as those featured in this class are examples of best practice in teaching composition. The ​format of this course where several instructors work together is a rare, but valuable one, particularly for ​training graduate teaching assistants in a variety of pedagogical strategies. Perhaps even more ​impressive was the writing course Prof. Rodak developed that focuses on collaborative writing: ENG-W ​241. While multimodal and digital writing courses are common across university contexts, a course ​focused on collaborative writing is particularly innovative. So, too, is it essential for students in today’s ​workforce. Pairing with a non-profit for this course highlights Prof. Rodak’s commitment to providing ​students with real-world collaborative experiences. ... Faculty development was another strong aspect of ​Prof. Rodak’s WPA work. Whether proposing new courses or revising existing courses, Rodak clearly took ​the time to create the resources for others to teach those courses as well. The handbook created for ​W131—Basic Writing as well as the Canvas site for instructors were impressive. Both were clear and easy ​for a new instructor or graduate assistant to follow. The same is true for the other faculty development ​resources Prof. Rodak has created. These resources represent both the intellectual work of faculty ​development and the work of program-related textual production. It is clear that Prof. Rodak has taken ​an active role in not only creating new content for her own courses but in training others to teach. Her ​innovative course design will thus have lasting effects on the university as a whole.

External Reviews of Dr. Rodak’s Promotion Dossier (2022)

Reviewer 4, Department of English, University of New Mexico​

It is difficult for me to imagine how Dr. Rodak has so successfully accomplished so much in such a short ​amount of time with the demands of her teaching and mentoring responsibilities on top of her significant ​service obligations as the Director of Undergraduate Teaching, and during a global pandemic, no less. ​While others over the past few years have (rightfully) been looking for ways to slow down or simply stay ​afloat, Dr. Rodak seems to have ramped up her own work and accomplishments in support of faculty in ​the composition program and across disciplines, as well as in support of undergraduate and graduate ​students, during a time that was surely difficult for everyone. ... As I have already noted, it is remarkable ​that Dr. Rodak has been able to maintain such a strong record of teaching and mentoring while also ​serving as the Director of Undergraduate Teaching, particularly with all of the many responsibilities the ​position entails and with much of that labor invisible to others but nonetheless influencing many areas ​of campus life. In addition to serving on an exhausting number of committees at the department and ​college levels, Dr. Rodak’s collegiality reaches far across campus in her collaborations with faculty and ​staff across programs and disciplines. ... As a teacher-scholar and administrator, Dr. Rodak is doing the ​important work of supporting faculty, instructor, and student success while navigating the often hidden ​or ad hoc challenges of higher education. It’s been a pleasure to read the file of someone doing this with ​such aplomb.