NYCEA NEWS

Dearest NYCEA members:

In April we welcome new President, Juliet Emanuel and a new Vice President, Deborah Vanderbilt. Juliet will serve as President from 2010 to 2012, at which point, Deb will step forward as the new President from 2012-2014. The terms are always two years, beginning and ending in April.

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Juliet and Deb in their new roles; both Juliet and Deb are long-time Board members. Juliet is the current Vice President--she has also organized many successful conferences throughout the years. Deb has been on the Board since 2003, the same year she organized a FABULOUS conference for NYCEA. In fall 2010, Deb and her Department at St. John Fisher will also be hosting another conference--details TBA in the coming months.

The Board's continuing responsibility is to nominate and vote on the next candidate for Vice President by fall 2011. According to NYCEA by-laws, the Vice Presidential term is two years; at the end of a given term, the Vice President will step forward as President for another two years. It is essentially a four-year commitment but very well worth the effort. I am now completing my fourth-year of the same commitment made in 2006. During my years as Vice President and President, we have seen some changes.

The biannual conference has been a NYCEA tradition since John Mulryan, an honored past President, turned this organization around from a fledgling regional affiliate of College English to the nationally-recognized organization it is today. In the last five years, we have found it increasingly difficulty to find conference hosts given increased demand on time and funding for faculty and their home departments. Of course, a NYCEA conference really pays for itself; we even give a $200 stipends six months before the given conference to help defer early costs like mailings and purchases of conference materials. The host-campus usually receives all the registration fees for a conference and then has access to those funds to pay for things like the Friday night dinner (which is often optional to help lower conference fees for those traveling from far away places), the Saturday morning breakfast, coffee breaks, and the Key-note Luncheon. The average conference fee in the last several years has topped out at around $65/person for full-time faculty; adjuncts, independent scholars and graduate students will have a reduced conference fee--usually around $10 less than the fee for full-time faculty. Typically, the host-campus arranges for reduced rates at nearby hotels to help reduce the overall costs even further. In today's world, you simply can't attend a conference for less than $300 with typical registration fees around $125 or more and the cost of your hotel room at about the same--unless you attend a NYCEA conference. WE strive to serve the academic community in New York State and beyond by providing venues to present research for peer review and development between campuses large and small; this helps to further the professional growth of all those interested in the many facets of the English discipline.

My first conference--ever--was a NYCEA conference. It was in the late 1990's--Iona College near NYC. I presented my work there and found the encouragement and support from both seasoned and newer faculty alike simply astounding. The people I met at that conference have been my treasured colleagues for well over a decade now. In fact, most of my Professional References on my Curriculum Vitae are colleagues met through NYCEA. And, the feedback I received has produced major research and writing, leading to countless publications over the last decade--something close to 45 books, book chapters, articles, essays, book reviews, and encyclopedia entries. NYCEA is not like other disciplinary organizations; while most of us start our careers through other organizations, we often find our way to NYCEA to really make the important connections with not just our colleagues, but with our research and writing.

Angela Belli, a current Board member from St. Johns and honored past President, helped to crystalize my idea for my Doctoral dissertation. Recently retired Board member, Monica Weis, SSJ from Nazareth was one of my PhD Examiners. Elaine Ognibene, Joseph Pestino, Deborah Vanderbilt, Gertrude Hamilton, Charles Ernst, Maryann Janda, Fr. Michael Callaghan. Lauren De La Vars, James Scannell--all treasured colleagues who have made it a real pleasure for me to not only be involved in the organization, but who have become good friends as well. In academia, we don't always have the ability to build these types of relationships with like-minded individuals. It's become a very competitive marketplace and so, our time is extremely limited, overwhelmed with professional obligations. At a place like NYCEA, you sit amongst friends and can have meaningful discussions about your work and theirs in a way that INCREASES your productivity as a faculty member. NYCEA provides a venue for those who want MORE than what other professional organizations can offer, and I for one, have gratefully reaped the many benefits of all that NYCEA has to offer.

And so, it is with bittersweetness that I spend my last few days as NYCEA President. I will remain on the Board through 2011 during the next transitional year and will then step down, making room for younger, fresher minds.

Some notes from our last Board meeting in October 2009: The Board made a majority vote regarding the biannual conference, shifting to an annual conference beginning in fall 2010 through 2012 as a temporary measure during the economically challenging times we now all find ourselves in. The discussion ensued after we learned the spring 2010 host-campus had to cancel; we had been discussing other possibilities for conference venues outside of college-campuses, including hotel conference facilities. Though the idea was sanctioned by the Board in spring 2008, the proposal was withdrawn in fall 2009 with concerns about increased cost. Another point of action was to give retiring Board members of ten years or more service, a five-year membership to NYCEA. Other issues discussed were the Graduate Student Prize, the continuation of NYCEA NEWS, and the upcoming fall conference generously hosted by our friend and colleague, and now Vice President Deb Vanderbilt at St. John Fisher in Rochester. James Scannell reported that our membership has increased and unlike others in today's economy, NYCEA's fiscal-responsibility has paid off. Joe Pestino and Charles Ernst also reported on the CEA national conference, which happens every spring. All NYCEA presenters are encouraged to submit proposals for panels or for individual presentations. NYCEA members are also welcome to submit to the CEA journal for publication. 

Please be sure to check the "Graduate Student Prize"and "Essays, Editorials & More" pages for the publication of the latest winner of the NYCEA Graduate Student Prize, Amanda Lagoe's excellent paper on James Joyce's work, as well as brief abstracts from the runner-up and two Honorable Mentions, a co-authored paper by Ashley Kelley and Allan MacDougall, an essay by Brendan Stapely, and a wonderful look at Nabokov by Brazilian Doctoral student, Ligia Winter.

Look for the forthcoming Call for the fall 2010 conference on www.nycea.org and right here, as well as the usual listservs like UPenn  Until we next meet, I wish you a joyous spring: Pesach Somaach! And a very happy Easter!

Best wishes,

Rebecca Housel, PhD