As a result of three English professors leaving NIU, the English department is Associate English Professor Jasper Neel transferred to a Canadian university while Marshall Alcorn went to a university in Washington, D.C. and Associate English Professor Jenefer Giannasi passed away.

Although these three professors focused on rhetoric, the departmental problem “is not only with rhetoric, but with general education,” said Department Chairman Glenn Meeter. Other problem areas include literature, linguistics and creative writing, he said.

“The overall problem is one of numbers,” Meeter said. “We can’t meet the immediate demand.”

Three professors, hired this summer, are temporarily filling the positions: Associate Professor Martin Steinman, recently retired from University of Illinois at Chicago, Associate Professor Christine Barabas and Parker Johnson, director of the writing center.

“We certainly want people on a permanent basis,” Meeter said, adding that these three professors will be teaching in the spring.

The English department “is looking to hire four people for fall 1990,” Meeter said. Three of the four will definitely be connected with rhetoric, he said.

The department is searching for an associate professor, an associate or assistant professor of technical writing and an associate or assistant professor to be the director of the writing center, Meeter said. The fourth person will be an assistant professor in English education, possibly teaching literature, linguistics or rhetoric, he said. “We have candidates in each area.”

Other vacancies also will be open next year. Since Associate Professor Teresa Ebert transferred to Rhode Island University, a possible position for a professor of critical theory might exist, Meeter said.

The department attempts to hire people through advertising and spreading the word, Meeter said. “We place ads in professional journals and make contacts with people at other universities.”

The Northern Star – 1989 Online