Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: It appears that, for a period of 10 years, the Graduate Program in English produced a Graduate Alumni Newsletter.
Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: 1) The first issue in the file folder dates to October 27, 1969. 2) The gender politics of this first page speak to its year of publication, as the Department prepares to go “into the market this year for a new man in modern drama.” 3) One of the more recognizable names on the list of faculty: Earle Davis, a long-time Department Head whose name appears on one of our oldest graduate student awards, who was spending the year in Cork, Ireland.
Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: 1) As of 1971, the Graduate Alumni Newsletter is not only bringing news to fellow of alumni but also serving as a means of program assessment for an upcoming university accreditation visit by the North Central Association — an approach that we have used, too, with our recent Grad Alumni Surveys. 2) Brewster Rogerson, the faculty member issuing the call, is another well-known faculty name, thanks to the Brewster Rogerson Scholarship for our undergraduate majors. 3) The Kansas State University letterhead c. 1971 has a distinctly mid-century modern look — and the university had a different area code (913 in place of today’s 785).
Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: 1) As of the 1978 issue, the newsletter is becoming something of a tradition, with the annual call garnering over 80 responses from M.A. and Ph.D. alumni across 30 graduation years. 2) The faculty names are becoming even more familiar — and not just from award plaques — as we read about new faculty members Jonathan Holden, Don Hedrick, Jerry Dees, George Keiser, and Leland (Eddie) Warren. 3) We also learn the timing of renovations in the old Denison Hall to create additional office space for administrative staff — a redesign that held until Denison’s demolition in 2004. 4) 1978 = a new aesthetic for the Kansas State University letterhead.
Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: 1) The newsletter for 1979 — the most recent issue found in the file folder — offers even more information about the department in its prelude to sharing news from graduate alumni. 2) Graduate students themselves are now serving as the editors. 3) We learn that, as of 1979, the Graduate Program had just three Tracks: Creative Writing, Language and Composition, and British and American Literature. (In 2020, we have five.) 3) 1979 = another approach towards Kansas State University letterhead.
Object: File folder titled “Graduate Newsletter.”
Observations: 1) The events of the Department, as of 1979, bear some resemblance to the kinds we might see in recent years, with readings by faculty and visiting writers, special events around a particular author or text, and visiting scholars. 2) “Diversity,” in 1979, appears to signal range in discipline, period, and genre. 3) In 1979, first-year GTAs were earning a stipend of $4,300. Today, all M.A. students earn a base stipend of $12,000, along with tuition waiver and health insurance.
— Karin Westman, Associate Professor and Department Head
K-State English 