Current News Archives 2008-2009 2007-2008 2006-2007

• English graduate teaches at Georgetown
• 2007 English graduate succeeds at Yale
• 2009 Thomas Wilhelmus Award Winner
• Ideation Project offers cash awards to students
• Nicole Reid’s Novel Wins Prize
• English major learns through internship

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English graduate teaches at Georgetown

Jodi, William, and Nathaniel Rivers

A 2003 graduate from the University of Southern Indiana’s English Department, Nathaniel Rivers completed his MA in English and PhD in Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University. While at Purdue, Nathaniel served as a Graduate Instructor in the First-Year Composition Program and in the Professional Writing Program. Additionally, he served as the Assistant Director of Professional Writing for two years. The Kenneth Burke Society named Nathaniel an Emerging Kenneth Burke Scholar for his work as an editor of a collection of all of Burke’s previously uncollected literary reviews.

Following the completion of his doctorate, Nathaniel accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of English at Georgetown University. He teaches writing courses at the undergraduate level and rhetorical theory courses at the graduate level. He is currently working on an article length study of Kenneth Burke’s notion of “attitude” and its place at the boundary of nature and culture and an article on fostering student engagement with local publics through rhetorical action. Additionally, he is at work on a book length project expanding the realm of rhetorical action to include bodily and environmental activity.

In 2005 Nathaniel married Jodi Rasche, also a 2003 graduate from USI’s English Department. Both were active in Sigma Tau Delta and it is through this involvement that they met. Jodi currently teaches language arts at Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Washington, DC. Working with sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, Jodi serves an at-risk population. She finds the work both challenging and rewarding.

In 2008, Jodi and Nathaniel welcomed the birth of their first child, William James. The child of two English majors, William, it is safe to say, doesn’t stand a chance.

Nathaniel’s professional website is located at: http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/nar26/

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2007 English graduate succeeds at Yale

Craig Fehrman, a 2007 graduate from USI’s English program, recently passed his qualifying PhD. Exams at Yale "with distinction."  He was the only person in his group (third-year students) to achieve this level.

While at USI Craig started Amalgam and produced the first two issues, among many other accomplishments.

Originally intending to concentrate on medieval literature in graduate school, he has decided to become an Americanist; his dissertation is about books by presidents.

Craig is also a freelance writer and lives in Connecticut with his wife Candice, who works at Rizzoli, one of the top publishing houses in NYC.

Learn more about Craig at his blog, http://craigfehrman.com/.

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2009 Thomas Wilhelmus Award Winner

RopeWalk Press is pleased to announce Marianne Boruch has selected Casa Marina by Candace Black of Mankato, Minnesota, as the winner of the 2009 Thomas Wilhelmus Award. Boruch praised "the range of the work and its containment, its wry edge, its earnestness, its discovery. The poems create and richly draw on a world both imagined and real, past and present." Casa Marina will be published by RopeWalk Press in December 2009.

Contest finalists were Millicent Borges Accardi, Gene Auprey, E. Louise Beach, Andrea Carter Brown, Jason Lee Brown, Cathleen Calbert, Carol Carpenter, Richard Carr, Helen Marie Casey, Greg McBride, and Jon E. Seaman.

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Ideation Project offers cash awards to students

Students at the University of Southern Indiana (USI) have the opportunity to develop creative business ideas and earn cash through the ARC Ideation Project during the 2009 fall semester. Students in all academic disciplines can compete by developing ideas for new products, new distribution methods, manufacturing upgrades, or other innovative suggestions for Evansville ARC Industries.  Awards of $500, $300, and $200 will be given to students with the top ideas, and the first 100 entrants will receive a free flash drive.

ARC Industries employs over 300 workers every year, and over 200 of the employees have developmental disabilities. Deidra R. Conner, president of Evansville ARC and a 1987 USI graduate, said, "ARC Industries offers one-source solutions utilizing flexible, innovative, cost-effective manufacturing processes. We provide 'quick-to-market' alternatives for both low and high-volume operations."

She continued, “We are delighted to work with the USI faculty and students on the 2009 Ideation Project.  This project is a great opportunity for Evansville ARC to benefit from the creativity and knowledge of the USI students, and an excellent opportunity for the students and faculty at USI to learn more about Evansville ARC and the many contributions individuals with developmental disabilities make to our community.”

Elissa Bakke, project coordinator for the Center for Applied Research at USI said, “It has been a privilege for the Center for Applied Research to collaborate with ARC and the College o f Business in developing this Ideation Competition.  This social entrepreneurship competition gives our students an opportunity to truly make a positive impact on the lives of others.  Rarely will students have the chance to directly create employment opportunities for others.  With this competition, a successful product idea has the potential to allow ARC to stabilize its workforce, and add new job opportunities for their clients.  Now that’s a pretty good resume builder!”

A tour of the company and consulting hours will be offered to students who want to learn more about the company before submitting their ideas. ARC Industries is sponsoring a tour of the facilities on Saturday, October 3, at noon at the Kotter Avenue plant. Consulting will be available from 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, in the University Center's Carter Hall D. Two ARC representatives will talk with students and provide answers to students' questions about the project.

The College of Business and the Center for Applied Research at USI are hosting the project, and Bryan Bourdeau, instructor in business, is the faculty sponsor. Bourdeau said, "The College of Business is excited to offer the fall ideation competition as a crowd sourcing model to help resolve sustainable workforce growth, a long-standing concern for Evansville ARC Industries. By tapping into the collective intelligence of the USI student populous, we hope to expedite and manage solutions for Evansville ARC Industries' concerns.  If successful, the College of Business hopes this model also will serve as a catalyst for front-end innovation management for other businesses within our region."

He added, "Working in conjunction with Evansville ARC Industries will help students focus their ideas on specific products for ARC." 

Bourdeau is accepting ideas through Monday, October 19, 2009. A web site at business.usi.edu/ideation.asp  will give more information about the 2009 Ideation Project, including directions to the ARC Industries plant and a video about the business. Students are required to submit a one-page description about each idea. Students can reach Bourdeau at bbourdeau@usi.edu.

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Nicole Reid’s Novel Wins Prize

An excerpt from Nicole Reid’s second novel, This One Last Thing, was awarded 2nd prize by Pagan Kennedy in the Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards.  Ms. Reid received $1,000 along with the prize.

Writing to Ms. Reid about the novel, the judge said:  “As soon as I read your first few paragraphs, I knew your story would end up in the winners’ circle.  First, and most important, you know how to tell a suspenseful story—which is a very rare talent. . . .  You brilliantly side-stepped the errors that even many experienced writers make.  This story is clean and mean.”

Follow these links to read excerpts from Ms. Reid’s novel:
Part 1:  http://sfwp.org/archives/432
Part 2:  http://sfwp.org/archives/452

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English major learns through internship

Kara Waggoner

Kara Waggoner is an intern with the Center for Applied Research (CAR) at USI. Kara, an English major and a Marketing minor, talks about the valuable experience the internship is providing: "The knowledge I have gained from my English background has enabled me to be successful in my internship in numerous ways.  With the internship, I write press releases and articles concerning the events and projects we work on at CAR.  Through my internship I have learned many valuable lessons and processes.  I have also been given the opportunity to do all of the marketing for one of our projects, and I have been doing consulting work on another project.  The people I work with daily guide me when I have problems and are sure to give me meaningful work.  Previously, I had not considered a career in communications, but through my experience at the Center for Applied Research, I believe communications is a very possible career path for me."