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Title
Department

Education

  • AA Blinn College
  • BA Sam Houston State University
  • MA Sam Houston State University

Previous Positions

PositionStartEnd
Professor, English, Blinn College2003-08-152011-10-06

Courses Taught at Amarillo College

Course IDCourse NameTerm

Other Credentials

Credential
Completed English Graduate Courses
NESTA Spencer Pilates Certified Instructor
Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Development Studies Program Instructor
English 567 Practicm in Teach Coll Comp
English 571 Studies in Modern World Lit
English 698 Thesis Research Methods
English 578 Studies in Lit of Renaissance
English 589 Hist Dvlpt of English Language
English 475K Texas Crossroads
English 581 Studies in 20th Century Eng Lit
English 574 Studies in Women's Literature
English 585 Studies in AMer Lit 1800-1860
English 532W Creative Writing, Poetry

Publications, Presentations, Public Works and Awards

Presentations:

  • "Time Well Spent: Teaching Argument and Description" at the Connecting through Composition conference sponsored by Cengage Learning/TeamUP: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, March 3-4, 2011.
  • eCampus Technology Roundtable Moderator for Blinn's College's faculty return meeting held at the Brenham campus Jan. 11, 2011.
  • "Jackpot Ideas for Helping Students Find Voice through Argument and Description" at the Viva Composition! conference sponsored by Cengage Learning/TeamUP: Las Vegas, Nevada,  November 18-19, 2010.
  • "Using TurnItIn's WriteCycle Suite in the Humanities Classroom" at the fall Blinn College Humanities-Brenham faculty gathering, August 26, 2010.
  • "Cleaning-up College's Dirtiest Word: 'Assessment'" at three Teaching Composition in the 21st Century conferences sponsored by Cengage Learning/TeamUP: Orlando, Florida, February 4-5, 2010; San Antonio, Texas, February 18-19, 2010, and Phoenix, Arizona March 4-5, 2010.
  • "Spying on the Neighbors: What are they doing Online?" Wake Up The Neighborhood! 2009 TeamUP Fall Energizer Conference sponsored by Cengage Learning, Chicago, Illinois, October 21-23, 2009.
  • "Abracadabra! Online Teaching Secrets Revealed!," Computer Culture panel of Southwest Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 26, 2009.
  • Panel chair for "Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Food, Recipes, and Relationships in Contemporary Women's Fiction," SCMLA Convention, Houston, Texas, October 29, 2005.
  • "A Delectable Discovery: Tita's Formation of a Self-Identity in Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate."  SCMLA Convention, Houston, Texas, October 29, 2005.
  • "Study Skills 101." Presented to Stanzel Foundation Scholarship recipients at Blinn College-Schulenburg campus in Aug. 2005.
  • "Hollywood Soot." 9th Annual Writers Conference in Honor of Elmer Kelton, Angelo State University, February 25, 2005.
  • "Feminine Presence in The Crossing."  Texas Association for American Studies 48th Annual Meeting, University of Texas at San Antonio, November 18, 2003.

·         "Rereading Fiction: An Autobiographical Perspective."  Central New York Conference on Language and Literature, SUNY-Cortland, New York, October 27, 2003.

·         "'Hell, Fire, and Damnation:' An Analysis of Flight in Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses." 2003 University-Wide Graduate Research Exchange, SHSU, April 16, 2003.

·         "'Hell, Fire, and Damnation:' An Analysis of Flight in Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses." International Spanish Association for American Studies Conference, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, April 9, 2003.

·         "Moving from Idea to Thesis" Sam Houston Writing Center and Eng. 165 classes. SHSU. Presented on several occasions during Spring 2003 with Bill Rudolph. Original reference handouts also developed.

·         "The Campus Newspaper: A Valuable Teaching Tool in the Writing Center" Sam Houston Writing Center. SHSU. Presented on March 10, 2003.

 

Publications:

·         "I am What I Read," (nonfiction essay) ThisIBelieve.org, 2011.

·         "The Siren Call of the Bingo Hall" in the "Narration" section of CourseReader: Rhetorical Modes published by Cengage, 2012.

·         "The Best Things That Educators Do" (tip inclusion for collaborative piece compiled by Skip Downing for the OnCourse electronic newsletter (e-subscription of 44,000), Oct. 2009.

·         Ghostwriter of Health Matters, newspaper column on health/wellness for the Youens and Duchicela Clinic, Weimar, TX, published in several central Texas newspapers and online, June 2009-present.

·         "New Equipment Aids in Osteoporosis Detection" (news release for Youens and Duchicela Clinic) published in The Weimar Mercury, The Schulenburg Sticker, and The BannerPress, June 2009.

·         "Classroom Court" (pedagogical piece) feature for OnCourse electronic newsletter (e-subscription of 40,000), July 2008.

·         Schulenburg: Halfway to Everywhere. Co-edited with Vicki Woodard.  San Antonio: Historical Publishing Co., 2007.  Print.

·          "A Word of Advice for the Newly Elected City Official" (three-page nonfiction feature) for The Missouri Municipal Review, a magazine publication by the Missouri Municipal League, May 2007.

·         "A Word of Advice for the Newly Elected Official" for Texas Town and City, a magazine publication by the Texas Municipal League, Dec. 2006.

·         "Anyone Got a Nut Cracker?" (column, creative nonfiction travel with original published photo) for TexasEscapes.com, Nov. 1, 2006.

·         "Blinn Students Work with Chamber of Commerce on Tourism Publication" (news article) in College Central: Campus News online site, Jan. 1, 2006.

·         "A Lesson in Service" (column, creative nonfiction) in Mature Years magazine, Fall 2005.

·         "San Angelo's (Semi-) Old Five-and-Dime." (column, creative nonfiction travel with original published photos) for TexasEscapes.com, June 16, 2005.

·         "'Them That's Got Ears to Hear:' An Analysis of Southwestern Dialect in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy" (selected portions of my thesis along with additional info.) in South Texas Studies journal, 2005 edition.

·          "Running of the Sheep."  (column, creative nonfiction travel with original published photos) for TexasEscapes.com, Feb. 16, 2005.

·         "The Perdiest Falls in Texas" (nonfiction travel with original published photos) for TexasEscapes.com, Dec. 15, 2004.

·         "Hollywood Soot" (short story, creative nonfiction with photos by Boyd Photography) feature story for TexasEscapes.com, Nov. 24, 2004.

·         "Classroom Court" (pedagogical piece) invention exercise as part of the University of Nevada, Reno, Core Writing Invention Project online, Fall 2004.

·         "The Siren Call of the Bingo Hall" (short story, creative nonfiction) in The Concho River Review, Fall 2004.

·         "'My, What Critical Thinking Skills You Have!': A Party Approach to College Student Engagement" (pedagogical piece) co-written with Robert Parr in Innovation Abstracts, Oct. 22, 2004, Vol. XXVI, No. 24, a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) by the University of Texas at Austin.

·         "Moments of Tranquility at Pedernales Falls" (nonfiction travel with four original published photos) in The Houston Chronicle's Texas Magazine, Aug. 29, 2004.

·         "Rereading Fiction: An Autobiographical Perspective" in the Sam Houston Review, Summer 2004.

·         "The Siren Call of the Bingo Hall" (short story, creative nonfiction) in The Houston Chronicle's Texas Magazine, Nov. 23, 2003.

·         "Through Security Gates, With Recipe for Disaster" (opinionated commentary) in Houston Chronicle, Viewpoints column, Nov. 7, 2003.

·         "My Trip to the Ole' Bingo Hall" (short story, creative nonfiction) in Third Story Presents, a production of the Sam Houston State University Writers' Forum, May 2003.

·         "'Hell, Fire, and Damnation:' An Analysis of Flight in Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses" In Research in Educational Leadership (Spring 2003) and the 2003 SHSU University-Wide Graduate Research Exchange Yearbook, Spring 2003.

·         "A Message From a Recent Graduate. . ." In The Legacy, alumni and public relations publication of Sam Houston State University, 2002.

·         Over sixty feature stories, campus news, and entertainment articles in The Houstonian, Sam Houston State University campus newspaper, Aug. 2000-May 2002.

·         Over forty feature articles on campus life on Today@Sam, Sam Houston State University's on-line daily news source, December 2000-May 2002.

  • Various publications in Texas newspapers, newsletters, and magazines for articles sent by wire from Sam Houston State University's Public Relations Office, December 2000-May 2002.

Awards:

  • Appointed College Board AP Reader for 2010, 2007, and 2006 English Language Readings in Daytona Beach, FL, and Louisville, KY.

  • Appointed SAT essay reader for over 10 administrations from 2008-present.

  • Appointed 2011 Virginia Standards of Learning Examination Grades 8 essay scorer, April/May 2011.

  • Technology Power User for Cengage Learning: November 2010 - present.

  • TeamUP English faculty consultant for Cengage Learning: April 2009 - present.

  • Subject matter expert for CourseReader: Rhetorical Modes anthology for Cengage Learning: Spring 2011.

  • Appointed 2009 Arkansas Augmented Benchmark Examination Grades 3/4 essay scorer, April/May 2009.