I hope you’ve had a good break over the past few weeks and that you’ll excuse a pre-semester bulletin with several important items.
Please find attached the report from the external reviewers. Our response is due by the end of February, and will form a major part of the business at our 31 January meeting. Please put that date in your calendars. I’m also appending the meeting schedule for the Spring semester, which includes other important dates such as candidate talks and graduation ceremonies.
We’ll be welcoming the finalists for the position in Black Atlantic and/ or Diasporic Literatures and Cultures to campus in the first week of February: Emad Mirmotahari, Duquesne University, will present Thursday 1 February at 12.30 pm; Cristovão Nwachukwu, University of Florida, will speak Monday 5 February at noon; and Lindsay Griffiths Brown, Princeton, at noon on Wednesday 7 February. I hope you will be able to make some of those talks in person (and a big thank you to the search committee, Jessica Pressman, Diana Leong, Lashon Daley, and Blas Falconer, for their work on this). We will, of course, be looking for volunteers for lifts to campus, coffee hosts, etc. in due course. A department meeting to vote on the finalists will be held Wednesday 14 February.
It seems likely that there will be a systemwide strike 22 - 26 January. The CFA has posted an FAQ page outlining some of the key issues, particularly as they relate to teaching, students, and other responsibilities.
Finally, please let me know by the end of the week if you would like to attend the MLK Luncheon on Friday 19 January. The department sponsors a table at this important event and has, in the past, had a good mix of faculty, staff, and students.
All best,
Quentin Bailey
Tuesday 16 January: First Day of Spring Semester
Wednesday 17 January: First Day of Classes, AC Meeting
Friday 19 January: MLK Luncheon, 11.30 am - 1.30 pm, Montezuma Hall
Wednesday 31 January: Department meeting
Thursday 1 February: Candidate presentation 12.30 - 1.45 pm
Monday 5 February: Candidate presentation 12 - 1.15 pm
Wednesday 7 February: Candidate presentation 12 - 1.15 pm
Wednesday 14 February: Department meeting
Wednesday 21 February: Grad/ MFA committee meetings
Wednesday 28 February: Lecturer meeting
Wednesday 6 March: AC meeting
Wednesday 13 March: Grad committee (MA apps); MFA committee (MFA apps)
Wednesday 20 March: Department meeting
Monday 1 April - Friday 5 April: SPRING BREAK
Wednesday 10 April: Grad and MFA committees (220 and 280 apps)
Tuesday 16 April: MA Portfolios due
Wednesday 17 April: AC meeting
Monday 22 April: MA Portfolio defenses commence
Wednesday 1 May: Department meeting
Thursday 2 May: Last day of classes
Friday 10 May: Commencement, 1 pm Viejas.
Sunday 12 May: Graduate Ceremony
