I’m delighted to welcome you to the new English Department website. Unveiling this magnificent new website is such a momentous occasion for our department because for the first time, really, we will be fully connected in a meaningful way to our alumni, the community, and our current and future students in “real time.” Those viewing our website will begin to get an in-depth, vivid, and ever-changing picture of the activities of our department, faculty, students, and community partners. One of the saddest refrains I’ve heard over the years is someone from the community saying in regard to our events, “I would have come if I had known!”
Making connection
Alumni Chair Michelle Moulder has written a letter, ready to be mailed, to our 3,000+ alumni and hundreds of friends in the community, informing them about new ways to become connected to the department (and chief among them now will be our website). Our department could have several thousand new Facebook friends overnight! A large university team, led by Don Hendricks, Director of University Communications (and former English major!), as well as our department, led by our Website Development Coordinator, John Turner, has spent almost a year of concentrated effort to create this new website (one smart enough to update itself in many ways!). This new website is only possible because of their hard work, and the hard work of our faculty and staff. So, thank you to all those responsible for this website!
Offering direction
Part of the beauty of this new website is that our department can provide crucial information and guidance instantly. Current students can quickly find the information about getting the advising they need, and future students can get the information they need, as well (and they can apply online!).
Sharing our stories
Also, the department will showcase the accomplishments of its stellar students, alumni, and faculty (look for our first spotlights, on alumni Rachel Smith, Kevin Brockmeier, André Evans, Linden Hargett Mueller and faculty member Shannon Wooden). Viewers can not only be informed about upcoming events in the department, but we hope soon have connections to videos of readings or other events on campus. All of our academic programs and all our co-curricular partners (the Ozarks Writing Project, Ozarks Studies, Moon City Press, etc.) will take full advantage of this chance to “put their best face forward.” Before long, we also hope that we can feature the glories of our new home in Siceluff, where every classroom is a “smart” classroom, in a virtual/video tour.
Thanks for joining us on our new website.
Sincerely,
W.D. Blackmon, Professor and Head
Department of English
Missouri State University