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English Faculty's 2021 Summer Book Recommendations (pdf)

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English Faculty's 2021 Summer Book Recommendations (pdf)

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Our latest annual summer reading list!

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We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

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The Spring 2021 issue of Millikin University's student-run campus magazine, BURST.

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Recent Illinois Press Association Profile of Decaturian Editor-in-Chief Athena Pajer

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Recent Illinois Press Association Profile of Decaturian Editor-in-Chief Athena Pajer

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Americans have been preparing
for the impact of a pandemic for over 75 years!

From home ec onomics to the modern family and consumer sciences classes, the foundation of basic life skills help ed bring families through 2020 and beyond.

Feb. 9, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marissa Kunerth, communications & public relations manager
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America
mkunerth@fcclainc.org
703-716-1308

Illinois State Adviser Marta Lockwood shares, "The Illinois Association of FCCLA is proud to be a part of the long-standing legacy of helping students become great leaders. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing young people making a difference in their personal lives, their homes, schools, and communities!"

associations who have contributed to student's success through character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, an d career preparation.

FCCLA's 75 th

Research Sources:

Tufts University: https://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/general-nutrition/28-of-americans-cant- cook

WZDX Fox: https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/what-ever-happened-to-home-ec-millennials-struggling-with-home-and-nutrition-skills/525-7f8fd87d-2134-408f-909b-4687ba46b496

About FCCLA

.

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Illinois Principals Association to host first virtual Education Leaders Conference in February

Feb. 1, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dr. Jason Leahy, executive director
Illinois Principals Association
jason@ilprincipals.org
217-525-1383

SPRINGFIELD - In a first for the Illinois Principals Association, we are hosting our Annual Education Leaders Conference virtually. The 49th annual Education Leaders Conference and Exhibition, "L.E.A.D." Conference (Learning - Equity - Advocacy - Diversity) will take place online February 22-23, 2021. The annual conference provides an opportunity for principals and other administrators to learn from leaders in the education field and participate in sessions to better serve their schools.

"School leaders have been there to support teachers, guide parents, and serve our students through the multitude of challenges this school year," said Dr. Amy Dixon, IPA President. "With the aid of the Illinois Principals Association, principals have not only overcome the challenges, but shown tremendous personal growth and flexibility. Now it is time for school leaders to take time to recharge and renew their purpose, passion, and leadership. The IPA Education Leaders Conference is the premiere event of the year that will allow them to do that and so much more!"

The conference will include presentations from keynote speakers Adam Welcome, Illinois State Superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala, and Beth Houf. Monday's first general session will feature Adam Welcome, a Principal and Director of Innovation for a large school district in the Bay Area of California, and his presentation "Kids Deserve It!" Mr. Welcome has been honored as Principal of the Year for his region, a "20 to Watch" for the National School Board Association, guest blogger for EdWeek, NAESP magazine, and other publications. His presentation is a simple, yet profound message to become more engaged with your school community.

Speakers at the second general session on Monday afternoon include Dr. Carmen Ayala, Illinois State Superintendent of Schools, and Dr. Amy Dixon, principal of Jefferson and Lincoln Elementary Schools in Carmi, IL and IPA President. IPA Principal of the Year awards, the Reaching Out & Building Bridges Award, and the Mr. John Ourth & Dr. Fred W. Singleton Professional Development Scholarships will also be presented at this session.

Beth Houf will begin the conference Tuesday morning with her presentation "The Power of Appreciation," including strategies to build rapport with students, staff, and parents. Beth Houf is the proud principal of Fulton Middle School in central Missouri. She is the Co-Author of "Lead Like a PIRATE: Make School Amazing for Your Students and Staff." Beth also serves as a facilitator for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Leadership Academy, providing monthly training to state educational leaders. She has spoken at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference, the Association for Middle-Level Education National Conference, the National Principals Conference, and many other state and local educational venues.

The conference will include popular IGNITE sessions, presented by IPA Principal of the Year Award Winners and leaders including Mandy Ellis (Principal, Dunlap Grade School), Dan Kaiser (Retired Principal, Dwight Township High School), Hattie Llewellyn (Principal, New Berlin High School), Dr. Tron Young (Principal, Joseph Arthur Middle School), Dr. Marcus Belin (Principal, Huntley High School), and Abir Othman (Associate Principal, Victor J. Andrew High School). These innovative, fast-paced sessions provide a unique way to hear from dynamic speakers who will inspire fellow leaders.

Small group sessions at the conference include timely topics such as: Race Relations in Schools; Practical Steps for Transforming School Culture; Trauma Informed Care; Leading through the Lens of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; Attendance, Chronic Absence, and Equity; Building Leadership Teams; and legislative and legal updates. Conference attendees can also explore the online exhibit hall for the latest in educational products and services, and resource materials from sponsors such as AMBA (Association Member Benefits Advisors), ECRA Group, Good for Schools, Horace Mann, Illinois Principals Foundation, Lifetouch School Portraits and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. For more information about the Education Leaders Conference, please visit ipafc20.zerista.com. For more information about IPA, please visit www.ilprincipals.org.

The Illinois Principals Association is a leadership organization which serves over 5,800 educational leaders throughout the state of Illinois and whose mission is to develop, support, and advocate for innovative educational leaders.

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Ten $1,000 Scholarships Now Available for Midwest High School Seniors

High school seniors from states that surround Iowa have a chance to earn one of 10 $1,000 college scholarships

Jan. 13, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Christopher Weishaar
Digital Public Relations Specialist
Iowa Student Loan
cweishaar@studentloan.org
(515) 273-7140

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (Jan. 13, 2021) - High school seniors from Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin now have a chance to receive one of 10 college scholarships worth $1,000. Registration is open now through April 30, 2021.

High school seniors may register for the ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship atwww.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest. Iowa Student Loan® will award $1,000 scholarships to 10 students whose names are randomly drawn after the registration period. Registered students also receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips, such as the importance of early career and college planning and ways to reduce student loan indebtedness.

"We know 2020 has been a tough year on students and families mentally and financially. We want high school seniors to have the tools and resources they need to plan and pay for college," said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of Iowa Student Loan. "The information students receive during the program can help them make better decisions as they consider college finances, student loans and their future financial situations. We hope families also take this opportunity to explore all the free resources available on our website."

The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship is open to legal U.S. citizens who are seniors at a high school in one of the qualifying states during the 2020-2021 school year and who intend to attend college, either virtually or physically, in fall 2021. It is a no-purchase-required program, and full rules and details are available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest.

Additional Resources Available

Iowa Student Loan also has additional resources for families planning for college and for students who intend to pursue advanced degrees. The Parent Handbook consists of valuable tips to help families of students in sixth through 12th grades prepare for success in college and other postsecondary options. Parents of students in eighth through 12th grades can also sign up to receive twice-monthly emailed tips on academic, college and career planning through the Student Planning Pointers for Parents program. The College Funding Forecaster helps families understand the total cost of four years of college based on a freshman-year financial aid offer. Information about these resources is available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SmartBorrowing.

###

About Iowa Student Loan
Established in 1979 as a private, nonprofit organization, Iowa Student Loan helps students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. Iowa Student Loan has helped nearly 400,000 students pay for college. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information about Iowa Student Loan, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.

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MADE IN ILLINOIS: Decaturian editor talks leadership, truth, existentialism

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Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Americans have been preparing for the impact of a pandemic for over 75 years! From home ec onomics to the modern family and consumer sciences classes, the foundation of basic life skills help ed bring families through 2020 and beyond. Feb.

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The 2019-2020 issue of BURST magazine, a magazine produced by undergraduate students at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.

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edited by Millikin faculty and undergraduates

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Jacqui Rogers, Student Senate President

I would like to welcome the new Student Senate Executive Board for the 2014-2015 school year! They will be guiding Student Senate in the new school year to continue to tackle...

March 26, 2014

March 26, 2014

March 5, 2014

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Jacqui Rogers, Student Senate President I would like to welcome the new Student Senate Executive Board for the 2014-2015 school year! They will be guiding Student Senate in the new school year to continue to tackle... March 26, 2014 March 26, 2014 March 5, 2014

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Millikin English Club hosts annual Poe in the Pit celebration

Millikin University's English Club hosted its annual "Poe in the Pit" celebration on Halloween night, Oct. 31, in the University Commons on Millikin's campus.

The event featured readings of literature as students read original works, excerpts of horror and mystery stories. The poetry and short stories of author Edgar Allen Poe were celebrated during the event.

In a recent interview with the Herald & Review, Athena Pajer, a sophomore English writing major and English Club president said, "He's such an icon. By going to this event, you're going to be in on all the jokes, and you won't just learn a lot about spooky popular culture, but you'll also just bond with people."
Photo courtesy of the Herald & Review/Clay Jackson
Close to 25 Millikin students attended the event, engaging in a Poe-themed version of "Quiplash," a wit-heavy party game, as an introduction before the readings began.

"Everybody loves Edgar Allen Poe for some reason. They like the spookiness at this time of the year around Halloween, and they like the horror stories," said Dr. Michael O'Conner, associate professor of English and English Club advisor. "There's been an explosion of the appreciation of the horror genre in the last 50 years. We've seen that especially in movies and television. People can trace a lot of things going on in horror movies all the way back to Poe. They sort of bow in respect to the study of horror through recognizing Edgar Allen Poe."

During the event, students had the option to either read a Poe poem of their own choice or to read a couple of stanzas of "The Raven" during a group reading.
Photo courtesy of the Herald & Review/Clay Jackson
"This has been a long-standing event. We've been doing this as long as I've been here, which is 22 years," Dr. O'Conner said. "So it's something that's been part of Millikin for a long time."

In the past, Poe in the Pit was held at a local cemetery as well as the basement of Staley Library. The event gained its name because it was previously located in a sunken garden behind the Staley Library. When Millikin built the University Commons, the location changed again, but the name has stuck.

"We hope to make Poe in the Pit something that anybody can come to for some spooky, clean fun," Pajer said. "It's always just been fun."

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Millikin students continue longstanding tradition honoring Edgar Allan Poe

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Millikin University's English Club hosted its annual "Poe in the Pit" celebration on Halloween night, Oct. 31, in the University Commons on Millikin's campus. The event featured readings of literature as students read original works, excerpts of horror and mystery stories. The poetry and short stories of author Edgar Allen Poe were celebrated during the event.

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English Department's 2021 Summer Book Recommendations (pdf)

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English Department's 2021 Summer Book Recommendations (pdf)

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Our latest annual summer reading list!

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English Faculty's 2020 Summer Reading Recommendations (pdf)

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English Faculty's 2020 Summer Reading Recommendations (pdf)

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Our Annual Summer Reading List!

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The message on the Padlet linked below  were for our new Fall 2020 English majors. They provide a great intro to some of the professors you can work with at Millikin.
https://millikinenglish.padlet.org/jcbates/welcome

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English Department alum A.D. Carson is an award-winning performance artist and educator from Decatur, Illinois.

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A.D. Carson is an award-winning performance artist and educator from Decatur, Illinois. His work focuses on race, literature, history, rhetorics & performance. He received a Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University. His album, i used to love to dream, the first-ever rap album peer-reviewed for publication with an academic press, was released with University of Michigan Press in 2020. This work extends from his doctoral dissertation, Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes & Revolutions, a rap album that is the primary feature of a digital archive at phd.aydeethegreat.com. Owning My Masters was internationally heralded and was also recognized by Clemson's Graduate Student Government as the 2017 Outstanding Dissertation.

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A.D. Carson is an award-winning performance artist and educator from Decatur, Illinois. His work focuses on race, literature, history, rhetorics & performance. He received a Ph.D. in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design at Clemson University. His album, i used to love to dream, the first-ever rap album peer-reviewed for publication with an academic press, was released with University of Michigan Press in 2020.

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Millikin English students gain enriching experiences during Fall Break

Millikin University's English Department is full of talented and dedicated professors like Dr. Julie Bates, assistant professor, and Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English, who do more than just teach their classes. To maximize students' learning experience, the pair took a group of nine English students to Chicago over fall break on a trip meant to give them an enriching experience.

"The Writing Committee, Dr. Frech and I, decided we wanted to do a trip or do something with students, especially thinking about professional writing and editing students who might not get the exposure to opportunities in Decatur (Ill.)," Bates said.

The two professors drew on funds from the Albertise Thrift Memorial fund, a fund given to the English Department in honor of Mrs. Thrift's daughter, and another fund that used to exist to take students to a humanities festival.

"There used to be a humanities festival that they used to take students to and it doesn't really exist anymore, so we're trying to recreate that experience because even thinking about not just 'How do we publish?' or 'How do we edit? How do we write?' just this broader exposure to cultural activities and getting out in the city and doing some of the things that we don't have the same access to, here."

While in Chicago, students stayed downtown on Michigan Avenue-only a few minutes' walk from attractions such as the American Writer's Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, two places they visited on the first day of the excursion.

"I liked going to the Art Institute. For me, it reminded me of the importance of expressing yourself in multiple mediums," Broderic Sparks, a senior creative writing major, said after the trip at a Millikin English Club meeting. "I'm primarily a writer, but since we got back from Chicago I've actually painted every night and I plan to paint again when I get back (home)."

"It was during the Art Institute and sometime after that I started taking candid photos of the students and posting them on Instagram," Kathryn Coffey, a junior creative writing major, also said after the meeting. "I guess it was just my subconscious awaking to finding my inner Linda McCartney. Her photographs just say a lot. It's just a simple expression or pose or lighting. It just speaks so much that I can't explain it."

During the next day, students had the opportunity to roam the city, in pairs, free of a strict itinerary, giving them the opportunity to see exactly what they wanted as long as they could get there.

"I learned a lot about Chicago architecture and I also learned a lot about how to navigate myself in the city," Sparks said. "That seems like it wasn't the goal of the trip, but I haven't spent a lot of time in Chicago and Dr. Frech has. He really helped me orient myself with just getting around."

Coffey noted, "Navigating yourself in stories is a good thing to read about and a good thing to teach people if they were ever curious about going to far-off places. I find it very interesting to tour the places that I've never really been to in the city-even though I've lived there pretty much my whole life. It was the American Writer's Museum and even the Chicago Tribune that had me say, 'Holy cow! I didn't know this was here!'"

Faced with the opportunity, several students happily toured the Chicago Tribune, where they could chat with Joseph Hernandez, the deputy food editor of the Tribune.

Hernandez took the group through the Tribune's new building, its test kitchen, and even to the topiary garden which overlooked the Art Institute, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and countless other portions of the city. Students were able to speak with other members of the Chicago Tribune's staff and ask questions.

"I've never been in an environment like that, really," Rebekah Icenesse, a junior creative writing major, said just after the tour. "They gave a lot of helpful information. I still don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate, but they gave me a few ideas like networking. Now I know that's really important, especially for an English major."

Icenesse has written for every category of the Decaturian, Millikin's student-run newspaper, but she became the editor for the Arts section last January. She, as well as others, spoke with a writer who covered Chicago's Art scene.

"I think it gave me a little more of an idea on how to make things better," Icenesse said. "Especially for my section, adding in more art features and more about the people at Millikin would be cool. We occasionally do our spotlights, but we could make it more about the people."

An interesting aspect of visiting the Tribune, students pointed out, was that they spoke to many young people.

"I know it changed my perspective of myself as a writer," Sparks said. "Especially when we went to the Tribune and we saw how many young faces there were walking around. There were people in their late 20s, early 30s. It just made me realize how close and how obtainable a goal like that really is for being an English student."

In addition to meeting members of the Chicago Tribune, students met with Millikin alums at the Palmer House on the last day of the trip. The alums ranged from someone more established like Chris Linden '08, the managing editor and web editor for Northwest Quarterly, to Katy Swift '17, who is just starting out and entering the job market, and already has experience in finding work through innovative ways.

"When we met up with the alumni, Katy Swift mentioned where she got her freelancing job. There are so many places where you can get a job on the internet," Coffey said. "It just blows my mind every time."

Having the students learn from former students was one of the major goals of the trip.

"Our alums have a lot of knowledge and experience, so it makes sense to connect them with students," Bates said. "But also for us, we're starting to build an advisory committee for the English Department and so talking with the alums to gauge their interest, get some feedback. It was a multipurpose trip."

Keeping that in mind, students gained from all the experiences, and each gave them a different perspective of their future careers.

"I think innovation has always been a priority for myself," Sparks said. "I don't know if it has been for other English majors. I think it made me realize that I need to be more in-touch with what's happening in journalism. I'm a literary guy, I focus on fiction. It kind of reminded me that Ernest Hemingway started as a journalist and so did a thousand other great writers."

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Millikin University's English Department is full of talented and dedicated professors like Dr. Julie Bates, assistant professor, and Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English, who do more than just teach their classes. To maximize students' learning experience, the pair took a group of nine English students to Chicago over fall break on a trip meant to give them an enriching experience.

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Millikin English and Arts Technology & Administration Departments team up to release student magazine

Two years ago, Millikin University musical theatre student Patrick O'Keefe, a James Millikin Scholar (JMS), had an idea for his JMS project - a campus magazine. After consulting with Dr. Julie Bates, assistant professor of rhetoric, composition, and professional writing, O'Keefe's vision became a reality with a prototype for a publication called BURST, a magazine that would have a specific theme with each issue.

After completing his project, O'Keefe asked Dr. Bates for a favor - to continue the magazine in some way. Flash forward to April 2020, O'Keefe has since graduated from Millikin (2018), but his prototype has grown into a full-fledged student publication thanks to a collaboration between the English and Arts Technology & Administration Departments at Millikin.

The latest edition of BURST was released this April with articles and content centered on the theme of "Empowerment."

As Editor-in-Chief of BURST Magazine, Millikin student Erica Mooney, of Decatur, Ill., wants readers to understand what's happening on Millikin's campus and how it affects the world outside the university on a global scale.

"The goal is to get readers thinking more deeply about some of the issues and current events they care about and to recognize that they have the ability to lead and use the resources available to them to make the world a better place," Mooney said. "We want readers to realize they are not alone, and we feel targeting Millikin students specifically will bring Millikin's student body closer together."

The BURST editorial staff consists of a team of editors, all English majors, as well as 11 writers.

The magazine is divided into four sections of content: MilliBits, MilliThoughts, MilliPeople and a features section. The MilliBits section includes shorter articles that are more lighthearted and fun - from a playlist of empowering songs to short pieces explaining ways to empower yourself through budgeting and exercise. The MilliThoughts section includes articles that share the writer's perspective on a topic, concept or personal experience of their own. The MilliPeople section of the magazine profiles specific people who attend or work at Millikin. Longer articles covering more serious, complex and controversial ideas can be found in the features section of the magazine.

Students spent the majority of the academic year pulling all the components of the magazine together starting with brainstorming sessions in September.

"The students spent about a month composing a first draft of their articles before going through a couple of rounds of editing and revision," Mooney said. "The writing and editing wrapped up at the end of the fall semester. For the previous issue, we attempted to squeeze everything into a single semester, but found it would be best to expand the time frame in order to produce the best product possible. I'm very happy with how this issue turned out."

By January 2020, it was time to design the magazine; enter students from Jessa Wilcoxen's Computer Art & Design: Creative Concepts course.

Student-run media firm Millikin Creates also assisted with photography and cover concepts. The media firm creates design, videography, photography, animation, marketing or audio solutions for clients on campus or in the community.

"Julie (Bates) and I started at Millikin at the same time, and we taught a magazine workshop together through the English Department, and from the very beginning we were looking for a reason to develop a campus magazine," said Wilcoxen. "This past fall, we were able to get student organization funding which helped us hire Millikin Creates. It was a big learning experience for the students of Millikin Creates on what it takes to provide multiple cover options that fit the theme of the magazine. My creative concepts course worked on the layout. By the time people arrive back on campus there should be several prints."

Twelve of Wilcoxen's Arts Technology students, who consist of visual media, interactive media and graphic design majors, played a major role by facilitating the entire process and bringing ideas to the table.

"The writers and designers were able to combine their best skills to create a great final product, and the communication and collaboration throughout the entire project was wonderful," Mooney said. "Everyone was receptive and willing to make changes to improve the appearance and content of the issue even more. We established a lot of unity and a shared vision."

Wilcoxen says the layout of the magazine was a three-week turnaround while the illustration, photography and the cover design took over a month. The final design changes for the magazine were added in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in which students and faculty transitioned to distance learning.

"Students are getting to experience working with a team for a real-world publication, and that's a whole different ball game compared to working individually on your own design piece," Wilcoxen said. "You learn how to be adaptive throughout the process and understanding how important deadlines are especially with something team-based."

Julie Bates says they will be able to print approximately 300 copies of the magazine working with Decatur Blueprint, Inc. in Decatur.

"Every year, Jessa and I talk a lot about making adjustments. Next year, we're going to bring in one of the photography classes to help with the magazine as part of the coursework," Bates said. "It's a learning curve for everyone. The finished magazine is a testament to the hard work and talent of all of the students involved."

Looking ahead, Bates says one of the elements they plan to add to the magazine is advertising space. "Although some of the work, especially on the editorial side, happens outside of our existing coursework, it's one of the best ways to gain experience working on a magazine that goes through every step of the process," she said.

"As college students, we're in a unique position that enables us to make a lasting change in the years to come," Mooney said. "I knew we could take the latest issue in numerous directions because a lot of fun, relevant article ideas could emerge from the 'Empowerment' theme."

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BURST Magazine breaks out theme of "Empowerment"

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Two years ago, Millikin University musical theatre student Patrick O'Keefe, a James Millikin Scholar (JMS), had an idea for his JMS project - a campus magazine. After consulting with Dr. Julie Bates, assistant professor of rhetoric, composition, and professional writing, O'Keefe's vision became a reality with a prototype for a publication called BURST, a magazine that would have a specific theme with each issue.

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Check out our newest publishing venture—Sting & Honey Press—on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/Sting-Honey-Press-102829884912000/

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The inaugural issue of BURST magazine, a magazine produced by undergraduate students at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.

The inaugural issue of BURST magazine, a magazine produced by undergraduate students at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.

Connecting content to people.

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The inaugural issue of BURST magazine, a magazine produced by undergraduate students at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.

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featuring Millikin undergraduate writers & correctional facility inmates

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Critical Storytelling from Behind Invisible Bars

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A chapter on Blue Satellite Press appears in this book: Entrepreneurship in Action: The Power of Student-Run Ventures.

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JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

Hardback

The Power of Student-Run Ventures

9781839102936 Edward Elgar Publishing

Edited by Eric W. Liguori, Rohrer Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, US. He served as President of USASBE in 2019 and Mark Tonelli, Assistant Professor of Music and coordinator of guitar studies, College of Fine Arts, Millikin University, US

This book offers an in-depth examination of six exemplar student-run ventures. These ventures, actual businesses that students enroll in as a course and run themselves, are changing the ways in which students learn by offering valuable hands-on experience. Many universities around the US have some form of student-run venture operating on campus, but how learning is reinforced and integrated into the classroom varies widely, as does the meaningfulness of the overall student experience. The struggle is most universities operate these ventures as one-offs, disconnected from formal academic instruction and as a side project that never gets full faculty or student attention.

Student-run ventures, actual businesses that students enroll in as a course and run themselves, are changing the ways in which students learn by offering valuable hands-on experience. Many universities around the US have some form of student-run venture operating on campus, but how learning is reinforced and integrated into the classroom varies widely, as does the meaningfulness of the overall student experience. Most universities operate these ventures as one-offs, disconnected from formal academic instruction and as a side project that never gets full faculty or student attention.

This book examines six exemplar student-run ventures in depth. These ventures span disciplines from all across campus (arts, humanities, technology) and have known track-records of success, not only from a revenue perspective, but also in terms of pedagogy and learning. Readers learn the inner workings of all six student-run venture courses first-hand from the faculty teaching the course and from students who have taken the course.

For instructors looking to start a student-run venture on their campus this book is a must-have roadmap that is sure to help them sidestep obstacles and to accelerate success. The insights contained here show you how you can enhance student engagement and learning by incorporating elements of 21st century entrepreneurship education into the classroom.

'Student-run ventures, such as found at Millikin University, may be the optimal way to teach developing entrepreneurship. As you will see in this book, students go beyond work in the classroom and gain first-hand knowledge of how to act entrepreneurially. This book offers clear insight into a myriad of student-run ventures and has the potential to influence the broader field of entrepreneurship education.'
- James D. Hart, Southern Methodist University, US

'Entrepreneurship in Action: The Power of Student-Run Ventures is a much-needed addition to the field of entrepreneurship education by giving concrete examples and steps of how to empower our students best to take the proverbial plunge into entrepreneurship.'
- Christoph Winkler, Iona College, US

Contributors: D. Burdick, K. Feriozzi Flemming, S. Frech, E. Liguori, R.J. Podeschi, J. Shields, S. Theis, M. Tonelli, L. Zane, J. Zebrowski

Contents:

Foreword ix

PART I CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON
STUDENT-RUN VENTURES
1 Entrepreneurship in action: the power of the student-run venture 2
Mark Tonelli
2 Student-run ventures and interdisciplinary entrepreneurship
education 7
Eric Liguori and Lee Zane
3 Creating a culture for student-run ventures 12
Julienne Shields
4 Role clarity in SRVs: students, faculty, and administrators 25
Julienne Shields, Eric Liguori, and Mark Tonelli
5 Student-run venture outcomes 35
Julienne Shields and Mark Tonelli
6 The Millikin University SRV model: frequently asked questions 42
Julienne Shields and Mark Tonelli
7 Reacting to crisis: how student-run ventures pivoted
following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic 53
Mark Tonelli

PART II STUDENT-RUN VENTURE CASE SUMMARIES
8 Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre 63
Sara Theis
9 Art Circus 77
Dave Burdick
10 Blue Satellite Press 88
Stephen Frech
11 MU Performance Consulting 104
RJ Podeschi
12 Blue Connection Art Gallery 116
Kate Flemming
13 Arts Café 133
Mark Tonelli

Index

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This book affers an in-depth examination of six exemplar student-run ventures. These ventures, actual businesses that students enroll in as a course and run themselves, are changing the ways in which students learn by offering valuable hands-on experience.

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Millikin English Professor incorporates real practice with professional writing

For Dr. Julie Bates, Performance Learning is much more than a Millikin University buzz word, it's a practice. Dr. Bates is an assistant professor in the English Department and teaches courses focused on professional writing and editing, rhetoric and composition.

This fall she is teaching four courses: Critical Writing, Reading, and Research; Writing and the Environment; Web Publishing; and Magazine Publishing Roundtable, but her works can be seen far outside of the classroom.

When asked about how she incorporates Performance Learning in and out of the classroom Dr. Bates said, "If you're teaching professional writing - why not make it real practice? Why just talk about it in theory when you can lay the ground work of that theory and then apply those skills." This mindset can be demonstrated in all of her classes and other extracurricular projects.

Dr. Bates is currently collaborating with Millikin student Alex Ralat, a senior English writing major from Springfield, Ill., on a new Millikin magazine called "Burst." She also helped another Millikin student, Kaytlin Jacoby, of Taylorville, Ill., land the position of editorial assistant for the Rhetoric Review, a scholarly journal that Dr. Bates oversees as the book review editor.

Dr. Bates notes that the position of an editorial assistant is often given to graduate students, but through Millikin's courses and focus on Performance Learning, Jacoby was prepared to take on this advanced role. Dr. Bates has also teamed up with another Millikin English Professor, Dr. Stephen Frech, this fall semester to take a group of students to Chicago to meet and engage with professional writers and Millikin alumni.

Millikin University is much more than your typical institution according to Dr. Bates. With an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students and an average classroom size of 16, students are not just numbers at Millikin. Dr. Bates uses that to her advantage to get to know the students she's working with and their stories.

Dr. Bates also believes Millikin stands out as an academic institution because of the commitment the institution has for engaging students with their peers, faulty and their future. At Millikin, Dr. Bates has the flexibility to create and shape classes based on her passions. "I can make apparent to students what I value. It is important as a teacher and communicator to take your own expertise and shape it for other students to use."

Dr. Bates believes perspective students should consider making it Millikin if they value collaboration with their peers, as well as their faculty. She also says Millikin gives students the opportunity to "do a little bit of everything and dabble in all kinds of activities, both in and out of the classroom."

Dr. Bates notes that students also have the chance to be hyper-focused on their major and dive deep into what they are passionate about.

"There is so much passion and commitment to the students and teaching at Millikin," said Dr. Bates. "I enjoy working with students and I appreciate all the opportunities Millikin has to offer."

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For Dr. Julie Bates, Performance Learning is much more than a Millikin University buzz word, it's a practice. Dr. Bates is an assistant professor in the English Department and teaches courses focused on professional writing and editing, rhetoric and composition.

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Emily Skaja '06 wins poetry award for first book

At the age of 28, Millikin University graduate Emily Skaja '06 knew she was ready to send her poetry work out for publication. A creative writing major while attending Millikin, Skaja began writing poems when she was 17, and after numerous projects, her hard work recently paid off by earning the 2018 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets for her first manuscript "Brute," which will be published in April 2019.

The Walt Whitman Award is a $5,000 first-book publication prize. The winning manuscript, chosen by an acclaimed poet, is published by Graywolf Press.

"I wrote the poems in 'Brute' about my experience of getting away from an abusive relationship, and it took some time for me to be able to write about that," said Skaja. "It seemed unreal to me that I would be someone who could be bullied and controlled. Writing the poems, I asked myself - when did it start? How did it get so bad? It was really subtle at the beginning. I felt totally destroyed by that experience, and I found myself on the other side of it trying to remember what kind of person I had been before it happened, and trying to imagine what kind of person I could possibly become now that I had been so changed by it."

Skaja, who is pursuing a doctorate in creative writing and literature with a certificate in women's, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Cincinnati, says some of the poems are attempts to recreate that history and to look at it from all angles.

"Some of the poems are about learning to forge a new self out of the ashes of the old one, elegizing that loss of innocence," said Skaja.

A native of Huntley, Ill., Skaja was a first-generation college student. She credits Millikin faculty members Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English, and Dr. Carmella Braniger, associate professor of English, for mentoring and encouraging her to take herself seriously as a poet.

"I'd grown up in a rural town, I didn't know any other writers, and I never would have pursued poetry without their generous attention and support," said Skaja. "At Millikin, I was an editor for the literary magazine 'Collage' with some of my best friends, including Josh Wild '06 and Katie Schmid '06, incredibly talented poets who are also now in poetry Ph.D. programs. Millikin was my first lesson in how important it is to have a supportive community of writers challenging you to write your best work."

After graduating from Millikin in 2006, Skaja went on to earn a master's degree from Temple University and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from Purdue. It was at Purdue where she started writing poems she was proud of.

"When I was at Purdue, I was in an MFA class that was entirely made up of other women, and so that felt to me like a safe space in which I could write about what had happened and sort through how I felt about it," said Skaja. "I worked with amazing, brilliant, generous poetry professors who challenged me to take risks, and get strange, and mine my own life for insight and purpose."

Since Purdue, Skaja's poems have been published in Best New Poets, Blackbird, Crazyhorse, FIELD and Gulf Coast, among other journals.

She is also the recipient of The Russell Prize for emerging poets, the Gulf Coast Poetry Prize, an Academy of American Poets College Prize, an Association of Writers and Writing Programs Intro Award and a Taft Research Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati. She is also the associate poetry editor of Southern Indiana Review.

As part of the Walt Whitman Award, Skaja receives an all-expenses-paid six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in the Umbrian region of Italy, and copies of her publication will be distributed to thousands of Academy of American Poets members.

In addition to her book being published in April 2019, Skaja will graduate from the University of Cincinnati with her Ph.D. at the same time and plans to pursue a career as a creative writing professor.

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Millikin graduate receives prestigious Walt Whitman Award

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At the age of 28, Millikin University graduate Emily Skaja '06 knew she was ready to send her poetry work out for publication. A creative writing major while attending Millikin, Skaja began writing poems when she was 17, and after numerous projects, her hard work recently paid off by earning the 2018 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets for her first manuscript "Brute," which will be published in April 2019.

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Sr. Coordinator, Digital Marketing/Circulation @Harvard_Ed_Pub. Formerly @techreview. MA in Publishing, Emerson College.

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Tweets by editorbrittany

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Digital Literatures is part of a larger project by Dr. Tony Magagna and his students at Millikin University to explore the increasing intersections of literature and digital media.

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DECATUR - Clinks and clanks distinctive to a letterpress manufactured by Chandler & Price in 1909 were just about the only sounds that could be heard as the crew of Blue Satellite Press made the first color pass on their new poetry broadside.

The three students taking Letterpress Publishing at Millikin University this semester each took a turn operating the foot pedal while alternating between inserting a blank card and then removing it after it had been stamped in brown ink with the image of a tree branch.

Lexi DeSollar, a junior theater major from Beardstown who plans to minor in writing, said she enjoys engaging with literature physically and mentally. "I wanted to understand how books become books," she said.

Members of Blue Satellite Press also hope to engage the public this week with an open house to celebrate the 2,700-pound press the students were using, their largest and one acquired last year from Classic Printing when it closed.

The event is also designed to celebrate the new and larger space for the student-run business as well as a smaller letterpress Blue Satellite has had for five years that was also made by Chandler & Price in 1909.

"One of our projects this semester was to throw a 'separated at birth' reunion party for the presses," said Stephen Frech, associate professor of English and teacher of the class. "They each went their own way out into the world but found their way back together here."

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Millikin's Blue Satellite keeps it old style with letterpress

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DECATUR - Clinks and clanks distinctive to a letterpress manufactured by Chandler & Price in 1909 were just about the only sounds that could be heard as the crew of Blue Satellite Press made the first color pass on their new poetry broadside.

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Departmental Course Offerings

Courses change each semester, so this list should not be considered a commitment to these individual topics. However, this does represent a list of many of our current and popular courses. The list is provided so that you can begin to imagine your academic career at Millikin in this major.

Intro to Millikin English Studies

This one-credit roundtable, required of all English majors or minors and open to any students interested in exploring the English majors, introduces students to the learning opportunities and experiences available through English Studies at Millikin University. Content includes an introduction to typical learning communities in English Education, English Writing and English Literature majors. Students will examine the curriculum requirements and opportunities for study in each major, including possible career choices. Exposure to "doing" English Studies is emphasized, with presentations on the Writing Center, Bronze Man Books, the Decaturian, the Collage Literary Magazine. Expectations include attendance at campus events and activities that are English Studies-related. (EN105)

ESL: Tutoring Roundtable

This Tutoring roundtable provides those interested in tutoring with an understanding of the ESL student writing experience, the kinds of writing that might be generated and why, and offers insight into the needs and concerns of these writers. Students in this class will have the opportunity to learn about and apply useful and effective tutoring strategies and tools for working with ESL students. Upon completion of this course, students will have developed an understanding of the background of the ESL writer and ESL writing issues, be able to identify common as well as some of the unique challenges ESL students may have with writing and communicating, and will have developed, practiced, and demonstrated a repertoire of strategies and tools for addressing ESL student writing needs. (EN110)

ESL: Intermediate Reading& Writing

This three-credit course is required of all ESL students with below-standard TOEFL scores and open to all ESL students. This course facilitates a transition for ESL students into mainstream academic learning environment by focusing on reading and writing strategies at an intermediate level. Students will learn various reading strategies through intensive reading, extensive reading, and timed reading practices. Students will practice effective writing skills and diverse rhetorical strategies. Students will learn research strategies and practice documentation. (EN113)

Approaches to Literature

An introduction to literature and to basic methods of literary analysis and interpretation. Includes reading of short fiction, novels, poetry, and drama. Recommended as a General Education course. (EN120)

English Lang Arts Education

This roundtable offers students the opportunity to become involved in professional organizations in English language arts education. The course may focus on a professional conference (which students will attend) or on a professional organization (which students will join). Students will become familiar with the goals and activities of these organizations. (EN175)

Intro to Tutoring Roundtable

The course aims to provide students with theoretical and experiential grounding in peer tutoring of writing, allowing them to move from the traditional role of instructed subjects to more dynamic role as peer tutors and collaborators. Throughout the course our concerns will be practical as well as pedagogical. We begin by examining the philosophy of the Writing Center and how that fits into the theoretical/pedagogical approaches to peer tutoring, and move into practice, focusing on interpersonal dynamics, audience adaptation, and collaborative learning. Students will engage in active sharing and development of tutoring styles, skills, and strategies, investigate writing in the disciplines, and engage in self-reflection concerning the practice of peer tutoring. This course will be combination of discussion, lecture, reflection, group work, and tutor presentations which will allow us the opportunities to share, analyze and critique as well as connect theory and pedagogy to real world tutoring experiences. (EN180)

Writing Seminar

A course in non-fictional prose, emphasizing clarity of style, audience and development of ideas. Content will vary semester to semester. Representative topics include persuasion and argument, the variety of non-fiction, writing in academic disciplines, research and extended essays. Pre-requisite: sophomore standing or consent of Department Chair. (EN200)

Intro to Creative Writing

An introduction to writing in three genres: fiction, poetry, and drama. Special attention given to techniques of characterization, dialogue, diction, phrasing, plotting, narration, description and prosody. Includes a writing project designed by each student. (EN201)

Writing about Literature

This is an entry level course to learn to write about literature, with special emphasis on literary criticism and critical approaches. The course begins with forms of writing about literature for the general public, such as book and film reviews, personal essays, diaries and journals. The course then moves to careful reading and close textual analysis, with written forms to include explication and interpretation based on primary texts from a variety of authors and genres. Finally the course includes basic critical approaches to reading literature, such as feminist, formal, cultural studies, biographical, and psychological. Students compile a portfolio of writing by the end of the course. Required of all lit. majors, and fulfills one of the advanced writing requirements for all English majors. Usually taken in the sophomore year. Does not fulfill the A&S Literature requirement. Pre-requisite: IN 151 or consent. (EN202)

English as Discipline/Profession

This is a course for the beginning English major and for the potential major, designed to introduce the areas of English as a discipline, to introduce basic scholarly and critical tools, and to discuss, using guest lecturers and field experiences, career possibilities for the English major. (EN211)

Journalism: Newswriting I

Introduction to basic methods of news reporting and writing. Students learn Associated Press style basics and an introduction to journalism ethics while writing the basic types of news stories: obituaries, advances, follow-ups, breaking news, controversy and research-based. Focuses on print journalism, but also addresses broadcast newswriting. (EN215)

Literary Topics

Readings in literature that focus on a particular topic. Offerings vary semester to semester and include such topics as gender roles in literature, death and dying, the Holocaust, ethnic voices in America, the Nobel Prize in literature, and science fiction. Recommended as a general education course. (EN220)

Contemporary Adolescent Literature

Students read and study a large variety of adolescent literature generally taught in middle and high school classes, examining issues related to the reading and teaching of adolescent literature, including the relationship of adolescent literature to ?classic? literature. Students explore the depiction of ?young adulthood? in these texts and the relation of ?young adults? to other groups, the differences among young adults, and the role of family, education, media and other social institutions in young adult life. Recommended for all Education majors, especially English Education majors. (EN222)

American Lit through Twain

Study of major American writers from beginnings to 1900, including Bradstreet, Franklin, Poe, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville, Douglass, Stowe, Whitman, Dickinson and Twain. Examines these writers in cultural, intellectual and historical context. (EN231)

Traditions in African American Lit

From Phillis Wheatley to Edward P. Jones, from spirituals to folk tales, from slave narratives to postmodern novels, students study major African American authors, literary forms, and themes in their social, historical, and cultural contexts. Topics and authors may vary from semester to semester. Fulfills College of Arts and Sciences literature requirement and university culture track requirement; if cross-listed, fulfills U.S. Studies requirement. Pre-requisite: Interdisciplinary 150 and 151. (EN233)

Amer. Multicultural Literature

An introduction to American writers from diverse cultural backgrounds. The course will examine culturally specific questions, as well as cross-cultural issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Topics and authors may vary from semester to semester. Course may include authors such as Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, Sherman Alexie, Audre Lorde, Richard Rodriguez, Philip Roth, Maxine Hong Kingston, and/or N. Scott Momaday. Fulfills College of Arts and Sciences literature requirement and university culture track; if cross-listed, fulfills U.S. Studies requirement. Pre-requisite: Interdisciplinary 150 and 151. (EN234)

Methods of 2nd Lang. Arts

Introduction to methods and materials for teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing with an emphasis on language development across the curriculum. Helps students combine theory, research and practice into sound strategies for teaching English in middle, junior, and senior high schools. Students begin to develop a philosophy of secondary Language Arts teaching and learn how to plan instruction that is consistent with that philosophy and with various national, state, and school district standards and guidelines. The English segments of the Education Portfolio will also be initiated. (EN235)

Western Class Traditions: Literature/Rhetoric/Cult

Examines the role of literature and rhetoric in society. The course examines the tension between oral traditions and the emergence of a radical new technology called `writing? through close reading of primary texts such as The Odyssey, Greek drama, Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics, Plato's Phaedrus and Gorgias, and Longinus ?On the Sublime?. (EN241)

Major World Authors

Introduction to selected European and American literary masterpieces. Writers and works will be studied in their various contexts, the key literary periods and movements of the last four centuries: the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism and Modernism. Representative authors include Moliere, Swift, Goethe, Wordsworth, Dickinson, Flaubert, Ibsen, Yeats, Eliot, Woolf, Borges, Ellison, and Marquez. Recommended as a general education course. (EN242)

Introduction to Film

Introduction to viewing film as an art form, with some emphasis on technique, the history of film, and the relation between film and literature. Includes such films as Chaplin's The Gold Rush, Keaton's The General, Citizen Kane, The African Queen, Psycho, Cat Ballou, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. (EN250)

Computer-Aided Publishing

An introduction to computer-aided publishing for print-media production. A workshop of simple to more complex publication projects that develop three essential roles: (1) the user of computer-aided publishing technology, (2) the publication designer, and (3) the manager of the publishing process. Pre-requisite: Interdisciplinary 150 and 151, or consent of instructor. (EN270)

Modern English :Varieties/Structures

This course provides an introduction to the linguistic study of modern American English. Major topics include varieties of modern English in the US, the phonology of English and its relationship to spelling, and the syntax and morphology of modern English. (EN275)

Sophomore Writing Portfolio

English 290, Sophomore Writing Portfolio, is a one-credit workshop required of all sophomore-level writing majors (including transfers). The primary goal of the course is to provide an opportunity for sophomores to review and reflect on their writing, editing, and publishing projects completed in their first two years of study. Over the course of the semester, students will work to discover their writing identities in relation to various audiences and to develop a strong sense of the expectations of the writing major and Millikin's writing concentrations. Students will develop a preliminary personal writing theory. Then, by the end of the course, each student will design, prepare and present a professional writing portfolio that demonstrates the knowledge they have acquired about what constitutes quality performance at Millikin and in the broader field. (EN290)

Advanced Writing

Specialized topics in writing at the advanced level, including such representative areas as the contemporary essay, manuscript editing and publishing, public relations writing, web publishing, technical writing, grant writing, and report writing. Includes an extended writing project. (EN300)

Methods for Teaching Literacy

This course is required for all K-12 and secondary content area majors. It supports the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards (IPTS) as well as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in literacy for History /Social Science, Science & Technical Subjects such as Art, P.E. and Music. Course Content focuses on the preparation of the teacher candidates for the responsibility of integrating reading, writing, listening and speaking instruction into their content area curriculum. Topics of study will include, but are not limited to: language acquisition and development; instructional design and literacy assessment; English language learners and students with special needs; differentiation an RTI; and college & career readiness. (EN302)

Web Publishing

This course is an introduction to writing, editing and publishing websites for a variety of rhetorical purposes. Students examine the history of publishing technology and the remediation of print media conventions into web publications. Major topics include the integration of visual and verbal elements including writing, graphics, photographs, video, audio elements into rhetorically effective new hypertext media. As a workshop students learn to use the latest professional web design technologies for campus and off-campus clients. (EN305)

Applying Writing Theory

An introduction to contemporary writing theories with an emphasis on applying these theories to the student's own writing processes and strategies. Also examines the history and application of writing theory to the teaching of writing. Includes an overview of invention strategies, the role of audience, the aims of discourse, approaches to style and methods of arrangement in writing and the formal study of grammar. Pre-requisite: an advanced writing course. (EN310)

Journalism: Newswriting II

Expands on principles covered in EN 215 Newswriting I. Students identify a specific ?beat? (i.e. covering a particular sport, news beat, organization's activities) and develop expertise and source building by covering the same beat for the semester. Pre-requisite: EN 215 Newswriting I. (EN315)

Journalism: Feature Writing

An advanced journalism course focusing on feature writing. Students analyze award-winning feature stories and research and write their own in-depth newspaper/magazine style features. The course also covers editorials and reviews. Pre-requisite: English 215 or consent of instructor. (EN316)

Major English Authors I

Reading and analysis of major writers of English literature from the beginnings to the end of the 18th century. In a typical semester, students will read such works as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the sonnets and at least one major play of Shakespeare, Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, Milton's Paradise Lost, Swifts Gulliver's Travels and Boswells Life of Johnson. Students will also trace the evolution of the English language and the major cultural and political events of each period. (EN321)

Major English Authors II

Reading and analysis of major writers of English literature from latter part of the 18th century to the present. Includes writers of the Romantic period (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Byron, Austen, and the Shelleys), Victorian period (Tennyson, Browning, Dickens, the Rosettis, Eliot, Hardy), and Modern period (Yeats, Joyce, Woolf, Conrad, Lawrence, Auden and others). (EN322)

International Literature

This course emphasizes an in-depth comparative study of texts, themes, genres, and authors from literatures of the world, representing one or more of the following areas: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, India, Latin America, and the Middle East. (EN335)

Studies in Poetry

Readings in special areas of poetry, including a single major writer, period, form or theme. Content will vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include Chaucer, Renaissance love poetry, the sonnet, the Romantic poets, Pound and Eliot, and Contemporary Poetry. Pre-requisite: One course in literature. (EN340)

Studies in Drama

Specialized topics in drama at the advanced level. Content varies from semester to semester. Representative topics include Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy, Greek and Roman drama, African-American performance literature, modern and contemporary plays. Pre-requisite: One course in literature. (EN350)

Studies in Fiction

Specialized approaches to short fiction and novels at an advanced level. Topics and readings vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include major women writers, fiction into film, the post-modern novel, and the classic English novel. Pre-requisite: One course in literature. (EN360)

Studies in Literary History

Advanced study of literature in historical, intellectual and cultural context. Offerings vary semester to semester and include medieval, Renaissance, 18th century, romantic, Victorian, modern, and contemporary. Pre-requisite: one course in literature. (EN366)

Studies in English Language

Students will examine the major periods in the development of the English language, study contemporary linguistic analyses of English, and explore how the use of language varies according to region, gender and social status. (EN370)

The English Language

In this course students will examine the conventions of English language as they relate to various rhetorical situations (grammar, usage, and mechanics); understand the concept of dialect and become familiar with relevant grammar systems (e.g., descriptive and prescriptive); understand principles of language acquisition; recognize the influence of English language history on ELA content; and understand the impact of language on society. (EN375)

Studies in Journalism

Specialized topics in journalism at the advanced level. Content varies from semester to semester. Representative topics include investigative reporting, advanced feature writing, review/editorial writing, history of journalism, editing and newspaper publication design. Pre-requisite: EN 215 Newswriting 1. (EN380)

Art of Publishing: Bronze Man

Art of Publishing is a performance learning practicum in book publishing. Students learn by working as an editor or designer carrying out specific responsibilities for Bronze Man Books, Millikin University's student-run book publishing company. Possible student positions include: editor, acquisitions editor, assistant editor, legal research editor, production manager, art director, designer, sales manager, marketing manager, marketing research, publicist, and advertising manager. For questions, contact either one of the co-teachers: Dr. Randy Brooks or Ed Walker. (EN384)

Blue Satellite Press

Art of Publishing is a performance learning practicum in book publishing. Students learn by working as an editor or designer carrying out specific responsibilities for Bronze Man Books, Millikin University's student-run book publishing company. Possible student positions include: editor, acquisitions editor, assistant editor, legal research editor, production manager, art director, designer, sales manager, marketing manager, marketing research, publicist, and advertising manager. For questions, contact either one of the co-teachers: Dr. Randy Brooks or Ed Walker. (EN386)

Publishing Roundtable

The Publishing Roundtable broaches relevant subjects in the field of publishing and editing. Offered on a rotating basis, roundtable topics can include freelancing, fine art, journalism, comic book production, and game design. (EN388)

Writing Portfolio

Senior writing majors and other highly qualified students develop a professional writing portfolio. Also includes preparation for careers and professions in writing. Offered only in the fall. Pre-requisite: senior writing major or consent of instructor. (EN410)

Seminar in Literature

Advanced seminar in which students complete a major project in literary study or writing. Emphasis and topic vary semester to semester. Representative topics include recent trends in literary criticism, autobiography, American Romanticism, Poe, Twain and the Beat Generation. (EN420)

Advanced Methods-Teaching Lang Arts

This two-credit course continues the teaching of specific methods of English Language Arts instruction in secondary schools and is a follow-up to the EN 235 Methods course. The course's specific focus in on planning and organizing a multi-part unit of instruction for implementation during student teaching. Also included are research opportunities for identifying instructional resources along with peer critiques of specific lessons designed within the unit plan. (EN425)

Internship: Teaching Writing

Students work with a faculty member teaching Interdisciplinary 150 helping to design assignments, tutor students, and read about and discuss various composition theories. This course is required for English education majors and encouraged for all English majors planning to attend graduate school. (EN470)

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Courses change each semester, so this list should not be considered a commitment to these individual topics. However, this does represent a list of many of our current and popular courses. The list is provided so that you can begin to imagine your academic career at Millikin in this major.

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Performance Learning Shapes Finals

Finals week at Millikin University recently came to a close, and as a culmination to the fall semester, a group of literature majors took the opportunity to present their Capstone research projects to an audience of fellow students and faculty on Dec. 13.

This past semester, five students - Emma Hoyer, Brittany Larsen, Sam Miller, Amberlee Seitz and Brittany Walsh studied various forms of "Digital Literatures" under the guidance of Dr. Tony Magagna, associate professor of English at Millikin. As part of their Capstone research and analysis projects, each student explored a topic related to the literary study of video games and other forms of interactive, digital narratives.

The Digital Literatures Capstone course at Millikin looks at how new media and digital technologies have evolved in the last decade, and how storytellers have begun to explore new ways of crafting narratives. Artists and authors have increasingly embraced the new media forms as a means to engage audiences with complex themes. Digital tools have allowed the most innovative of these storytellers to craft narratives in ways not possible in printed form, immersing audiences in their works and in their themes.

The event on Dec. 13 was in the form of a "mock" academic conference, with each student given 15-20 minutes to present their research.

"Overall, I was so pleased with the presentations from our senior literature majors," Dr. Magagna said. "There was a wide breadth of topics, from close-readings of individual digital texts, to genre analyses, to contemplations on the new opportunities for storytelling offered through digital media and video games."

Brittany Larsen, an English literature major from Maple Park, Ill., opened the event by sharing her research on the legitimacy of fan creation in the digital age. Through a web comic titled "Check, Please!" Larsen explored how fan ideas and creations about a work can shape the work itself, and how what is "real" in a text exists far beyond what the author initially imagines.

Emma Hoyer, an elementary education major from Champaign, Ill., made a strong pedagogical presentation on how to expand writing opportunities for students through the use of the free digital, branching-narrative tool Twine.

Dr. Magagna added, "These were thoughtful, complex presentations, and did a wonderful job representing the hard work these students have dedicated both to the study of digital literatures this semester, but also to the study of all literature over the course of their majors here at Millikin."

Sam Miller's research looked at the role of immersion in horror video games and how the horror genre is evolving. During his presentation, Miller, an English writing major from Maple Park, focused more in-depth about gamer response theory and explored the survival video game "Until Dawn" to identify the new direction of the horror genre.

Amberlee Seitz's presentation explored the relationship between choice and immersion in video games. Seitz, an English literature major from Decatur, Ill., researched "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, "Gone Home," and "Life is Strange" as specific examples of narratives that give readers a choice in how the story progresses. She explored whether the number of choices offered helps or delays player immersion, and that true choice builds a connection between the player and the game.

"This was an excellent Performance Learning opportunity for them," Dr. Magagna said. "As seniors - several of whom are either headed into the classroom as teachers or as graduate students - this was a fantastic chance to practice the profession of literary scholarship by formally presenting their work in a mock conference environment."

Brittany Walsh's research focused on gender representation and the gaming culture. Walsh, an English literature major from Roselle, Ill., looked at how the narrative of a video game is a reflection of the culture in which we live, and how it can endorse harmful stereotypes of certain marginalized groups. Walsh used the video game "Grand Theft Auto V" as an example of a narrative with storyline elements that eliminate positive female representation in the gaming industry.

After each student presented, a panel discussion was held with all five students.

"The questions from those in attendance both challenged the students to expand upon their previous presentations and to clarify their points, as well as allowed them to place their work into the wider context of literary scholarship and the digital humanities," Dr. Magagna said. "This is exactly what happens in classrooms and conferences for professionals every day, and the students got a taste of it first-hand."

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Finals week at Millikin University recently came to a close, and as a culmination to the fall semester, a group of literature majors took the opportunity to present their Capstone research projects to an audience of fellow students and faculty on Dec. 13.

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Collage, the official literary and fine arts magazine of Millikin University, is published twice each academic year. It is organized, operat... See More

Collage, the official literary and fine arts magazine of Millikin University, is published twice each academic year. It is organized, operat... See More

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Collage, the official literary and fine arts magazine of Millikin University, is published twice each academic year. It is organized, operated, written, edited, and designed by Millikin students. It publishes work by all members of the Millikin community.

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Dr. Stephen Frech releases sixth poetry publication

According to Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English at Millikin University, it takes time to discover what a poem is trying to be-a method that helped him formulate his latest poetry chapbook, "Into Night's Tent" (River Glass Books 2020).

"Into Night's Tent" contains seven poems including three longer sequences which are poems comprised of several shorter lyric poems. The title poem, "Into Nights Tent," is a sequence of eight short lyrics, each of them in the voice of someone longing for sleep: "The Depressive Longs for Sleep," "The Insomniac Longs for Sleep" and "The Miner Longs for Sleep."

"Sequences like this take a long time to develop, not only to generate the material, but also to find some meaningful order of the content," said Frech. "It takes time to discover what a poem is trying to be-in this way, writing is more about listening than about speaking."

"Into Night's Tent" is Frech's sixth poetry publication, including four chapbooks, one full-length collection and a book of translations. His four chapbooks include: "Toward Evening and the Day Far Spent" (Kent State University Press) which won the 1995 Wick Poetry Chapbook Contest, "If Not For These Wrinkles of Darkness" (published in 2001) which won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize and "The Dark Villages of Childhood" which won the 2008 Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Prize. His fifth volume titled "A Palace of Strangers Is No City," a sustained narrative of prose poetry/flash fiction, was published by Cervena Barva Press in 2011, and his translation from the Dutch of Menno Wigman's book of poems "Zwart als kaviaar/Black as Caviar" was published in 2012.

For his newest chapbook, Frech hopes readers "see some of themselves in these poems."

"Rambles at the creek growing up, friends' voices that fade in memory, the difficulty of truly knowing (oneself and others) and the thrill of discovery in all these things," he says. "The poem 'Horse & Rider' says: "We are allowed into the privilege of some moments.' I hope the poems provide similar entry for readers into these experiences."

Poet and writer Jennifer Sweeney describes "Into Night's Tent" as a "brief and potent carriage into the other-world, where the body is made strange and new by its permeability, 'a skin boat sailing toward luck.' Stephen Frech's lyric poems dwell in the threshold between realms where we lose ourselves and dissolve into elegant chaos."

Frech's inspiration behind "Into Night's Tent" comes from his interest in the ways people try to understand and capture their lives.

"I was surprised how many artists are mentioned or alluded to in the book: Picasso, Marino Marini, Muybridge, cave paintings," said Frech. "I'm always curious about the natural world around us. So the poems are often at that threshold between the natural, organic world and an interior one. We inhabit both."

As an invitation to readers, Frech draws attention to the last lines of the chapbook collection:
Why hurry, darkness? We have nets to mend, catch to sort, and a line from a poem I love is playing over and over again in my head.

"I hope there are lines from this book that play over and over for readers," he said.

From more information on "Into Night's Tent" visit riverglassbooks.com/product/intonightstent.

Stephen Frech

Stephen Frech has earned degrees from Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Cincinnati. He has published four volumes of poetry: "Toward Evening and the Day Far Spent" (Kent State University Press) won the 1995 Wick Poetry Chapbook Contest, "If Not For These Wrinkles of Darkness" won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize, published in 2001, "The Dark Villages of Childhood" won the 2008 Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Prize, and "Into Night's Tent" (River Glass Books 2020). He has a fifth volume titled "A Palace of Strangers Is No City," a sustained narrative of prose poetry/flash fiction, published by Cervena Barva Press in 2011. His translation from the Dutch of Menno Wigman's book of poems "Zwart als kaviaar/Black as Caviar" was published in 2012. He has been the recipient of the Elliston Poetry Writing Fellowship, the Milton Center Post-Graduate Writing Fellowship, and grants from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council.

Frech is founder and editor of Oneiros Press, publisher of limited edition, letterpress poetry broadsides. Oneiros broadsides have been purchased by special collections libraries around the world, among them the Newberry Library (Chicago), the Beinecke Library at Yale, and the University of Amsterdam Print Collection.

Stephen Frech is professor of English at Millikin University where he was recently named Hardy Distinguished Professor of English.

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Millikin Professor's newest poetry chapbook taps into deeper understanding of life

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According to Dr. Stephen Frech, professor of English at Millikin University, it takes time to discover what a poem is trying to be-a method that helped him formulate his latest poetry chapbook, "Into Night's Tent" (River Glass Books 2020).