Adminstrating and Training

Bush School-Medal of Excellence

As a coordinator of several different programs at TAMU, I have developed and overseen the resources and people needed to implement them. At the Bush School I created and oversee the Bush School Medal of Excellence, an award program that recognizes excellence in writing and leadership. (The leadership component is overseen by the Assistant Director of the Public Service and Leadership Program.) My administrative and teaching roles regarding the Medal includes (1) delivering workshops on the value of an ePortfolio, audience analysis, virtual responsibility, and reflective writing; (2) conducting individual consultations on students’ written work; (3) tracking participation; (4) assessing each ePortfolio for writing quality; (5) overseeing the design and production of the medal itself, including engraving for award recipients; (6) and participating in the awards ceremony at the end of the year.

University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program

Another program I have coordinated includes the University Undergraduate Research Fellows Program in the Office of Honors Programs. This position required planning and organizing workshops, meetings, and receptions; serving as a point of contact for all student participants and their advisors; reviewing theses for correct format; supervising publication of theses in the TAMU Digital Library; creating and managing online program resources; and teaching an online honors course to Research Fellows enrolled in Technical Writing. I also advised Fellows on the progress of their writing and research with the goal of creating and publishing honors-quality theses. In April 2008 I received the Betty M. Unterberger Distinguished Honors Faculty Award given to an honors advisor for outstanding long-term service to Research Fellows. I have also trained graduate assistants to help teach and assess the work of all of the students in several programs, including Freshman English program and Writing for Physics program. My training concluded with formal evaluations of the GATs' work. In addition I have served as a GAT (graduate assistant teacher) mentor in the Department of English for the past 10 years. This responsibility includes advising a GAT each semester on his/her teaching, which means visiting and evaluating a class meeting, evaluating grading procedures and final marks, advising on pedagogical or class management issues, and writing a formal evaluation the GATs teaching performance.

Graduate Training

In the spring of 2011 I helped train graduate students (in conjunction with the University Writing Center) in a comprehensive workshop to assess student writing prepared for the Engineering Ethics course ENGR 482. Training involved preparing materials, including rubrics, meeting with individual graduate students and professors to assess the grading needs of the course, and conducting a 5-hour workshop to train the graduate students on how to grade and provide meaningful feedback regarding student work.

Bible Studies

Last, I have coordinated and supervised evening and summer Bible studies for approximately 150 women at my local church; organized small groups and recruited group leaders; selected and ordered materials for all studies; secured facilities for group meetings; and led small groups.

Other Administrative and Training Roles

    • Supervisor to Bible study leaders at Grace Bible Church

    • Faculty mentor to new teaching assistants with full teaching responsibility in CTE-led workshops for new graduate teaching assistants (GATs). Provided support to lead GATs responsible for training new GATs during teaching workshops.

    • Faculty mentor to GAT in Department of English (1987, 1989-90, 97, 99, 04, 05, 06)

    • Coordinator of University Research Fellows Program in Office of Honors Programs (2005-2008)

    • Writing instructor and program advisor for Writing for Physics in the Department of Physics (2003-2004)

    • Bible study coordinator, coach, and small group leader at Grace Bible Church (1999-present)