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OSU English Honors Outstanding Graduate Student Teachers (07-25-01)
The Oklahoma State University English
Department recently honored three graduate students for excellence in
teaching.
Those honored are Carmella Braniger, outstanding teaching and
contribution to curriculum development award, Britton Gildersleeve, outstanding
teaching in composition, and Rod Zink, outstanding teaching in technical
writing.
Braniger, assistant director of the OSU English composition
program for 2001-03, holds an M.F.A. in poetry from Johns Hopkins University and
is a doctoral candidate in English, specializing in creative writing and
literature.
She also is the recipient of two 2000-01 departmental awards
for research excellence. Over the last two years, Braniger has been selected to
teach pilot courses with new texts and to make presentations to other
instructors about them. Recently, she has collaborated on the construction of a
new course for first-year writing based on reading and writing about American
history.
She was also cited for her generosity in be being host to novice
teachers in her classroom to observe and learn from her as part of their
training and for participating in cross-visitation with other experienced
teachers.
Gildersleeve earned a master's degree in English from the
University of Tulsa and is completing her PhD in English at OSU, with a
specialization in creative writing and modern literature.
She also is
interim director of the Oklahoma Writing Project, which serves teachers and
students in K-12 throughout the state of Oklahoma.
In addition,
Gildsleeve is the winner of many prior awards including the Clinton Keeler
Fellowship for Outstanding Doctoral Student and the American Academy of Poets
Prize. In 1999, she traveled to an international conference in China to present
research on the Asian influence on Ezra Pound. A published poet, Gildersleeve
has also published scholarly articles on Pound and on early American
autobiography.
"These two represent the very best of writing instruction.
One is a highly organized instructor who has been willing to share her gifts in
strengthening the program as a whole, while the other is a charismatic motivator
who won't quit until her students share her own enthusiasm for the
transformative powers of writing," according to Dr. Elizabeth Grubgeld, director
of OSU's English composition program.
A published fiction writer and
poet, Zink received his MA in English from OSU and is continuing as a doctoral
candidate in creative writing and technical communication. He was cited for his
enthusiasm for teaching and the clarity of his instruction.
Dr. Brenda
Orbell, OSU technical writing course supervisor, describes Zink as "an
enthusiastic, energetic teacher who draws upon his studies of writing and
communication theory, as well as his experience as a creative writer to create
innovative classroom experiences that prepare students for the writing demands
of their careers. He shows an unflagging commitment to working individually
with students as they develop and refine their communication processes."
English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu