Notes from the Executive Director

Abstract

Notes from the Executive Director RMMLA-Huntington Award In June, O. M. Brack, Jr. from Arizona State University left for the summer to work at the Huntington Library as recipient of the $1,000 RMMLAHuntington award for 1986. Professor Brack will be completing research on his book, The Making of'Samuel Johnson's Earlier Biographies. His proposal was selected from among the applicants by a committee chaired by Gene Cunnar, New Mexico State University, and including David M. Bergeron, University of Kansas, and Jeffrey Smitten, Texas Tech University. The award, funded jointly by the RMMLA and the Huntington Library, supports research appropriate to the Huntington collection. Applicants must intend to be at the library for at least one month. Applications (six copies) are due at the RMMLA office no later than January 1 each year. Notification will be made about the middle of March. All RMMLA members are eligible to apply, and we encourage you to do so. Award will be made based on the appropriateness of the research to the Huntington collection, significance of the project and the likelihood of completion. In accordance with the wishes of the Huntington, we will give preference to encouraging younger scholars. If you wish to apply, application information may be found in the Review, Vol. 38, No. 3 (Fall 1984) or by requesting information from the Executive Director, Department of English, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725. Board members think this is a marvelous opportunity for the RMMLA membership and would appreciate it if you would mention it to your colleagues to be certain they are aware of it. RMMLA Humanities Grant At the request of the Executive Board of the RMMLA, a Grant Steering Committee composed of Gene Cunnar, New Mexico State University, Charles Davis, Boise State University, and Philip Gallagher, University of Texas, El Paso, has submitted a grant proposal to the National Endowment for the Humanities for funding which would permit the RMMLA to establish a consortium of institutions to improve or develop introductory humanities courses involving several disciplines taught by faculty comfortable with only a portion of the range of material to be covered. Recognizing that the impetus for the establishment of the RMMLA was the vast geographic area and the difficulty professionals had in getting to outside resources or sharing 123 pedagogical concerns, the committee shaped the proposal to be consonant with those goals. If funded, the grant would permit the RMMLA to act as consortium coordinator to (1) provide on-campus consultants for institutions which needed them; (2) offer summer seminars on Integrating the Humanities; Humanities Curriculum: The Ancient World; Humanities Curriculum: Medieval and Renaissance Contributions; Humanities Curriculum: The Modern World; and (3) design workshops based on needs determined during the course of the seminars. Matters of canon, pedagogy, integrating writing, and others might be dealt with in the workshops. Earlier this year we wrote to institutions in the area attempting to determine their interest. We were gratified at the response and enthusiasm. While we can make no specific plans until funding is determined (the announcement date is January 1, 1987), we plan to have arrangements made with interested institutions so the program can be implemented quickly when funded. If the funds are awarded, the program will be an exciting and beneficial service for the RMMLA to offer to the region. RMMLA Program — A New Look In looking through the program for the 1986 convention you may notice that some sections meet at times differing from their usual ones. That is because the Executive Board has been working for the past year to provide greater order, fairness, and excitement to the program. One change you will note is the special session Thursday evening. The Board has decided to design a special Plenary Session for the next few conventions and then to evaluate the success of the practice. This year's special session will be "Writers of the Twenty-First Century," featuring a poet, a fiction writer, and panelists representing the perspective of criticism. It has been scheduled following the reception sponsored by the University of Denver and Metro State College. No other sessions meet at the same time. In addition, the Board has reviewed the structure of...