Greetings! The summer is upon us, and the SFCC English and Communications departmental spring newsletter is here. Please read on for departmental updates and our faculty’s recent accomplishments. Wishing you and yours a safe and pleasant summer ahead—Kate McCahill, Department Chair, English and Communications
Departmental Updates, Projects, and Initiatives
The English department has launched a new certificate in Technical and Professional Writing. This exciting offering, which will appear in the 2025-26 catalog, combines English and Communications coursework with electives in business, legal studies, marketing, psychology, and more. The new certificate provides a robust, practical writing credential for students entering a range of industries, from STEM to business to law and beyond.
This spring, our department again presented The Writing Generation, a series of literary events spotlighting diverse and powerful voices in writing today. Produced by Stanley “Austin” Eichelberger, Assistant Professor of English, and Val Nye, SFCC Library Director, this spring’s series showcased writers Adele Oliveira and Alfredo Celedón Luján.
Our internship program expanded again this semester, with more writing interns and community partners than ever before. Intern Rachel Weber spent her term creating the Spring 2025 issue of the Santa Fe Writers Project Quarterly, a well-established literary journal. And Jesse Colvin, who just completed his second semester as an intern with the Santa Fe Reporter, recently published an impressive article about Kevin Box’s origami-inspired sculpture garden. Alongside the Writers Project and the Reporter, our PILAS community partners include Pasatiempo, the Santa Fe New Mexican, and Southwest Contemporary Magazine.
We’ll be offering a bilingual section of ENGL 1110: Composition 1 starting this fall. Developed by Dr. Joseph Klemens, this pioneering English/Spanish offering will focus on empowering bilingual students with tailored curriculum designed to support language development alongside critical thinking, information literacy, and effective communication. To enroll, email joseph.klemens@sfcc.edu.
In partnership with the library, we have developed and scheduled a new course offering—Library Studies 1111: Intro to Information Literacy in an Electronic Environment. The course, taught by SFCC Librarian Sarah Hood, is now an elective for students pursuing a degree in Creative Writing or a certificate in Technical and Professional Writing, and will focus on digital, media, and news literacies as well as navigating and harnessing AI technologies. Scheduling information can be found here.
Faculty, SFCC staff, and members of the English department’s advisory board met for breakfast and conversation on Friday, May 9 in the SFCC Boardroom. George Gamble, former SFCC Board Chair and current member of the English department’s board, led a group discussion about teaching and learning in the current political and cultural climate. After the meeting, Mr. Gamble wrote, “Especially in these turbulent times, at local, national and international levels, I’m curious about how much students are engaged with the “real world” and how much of that engagement they show in the classroom. ‘Know thy student,’ a corollary of Socrates’ ‘Know thyself,’ prompted me to wonder, ‘To what extent do students share their ‘real world’ experiences, passions, interests, fears, in the classroom?’” We look forward to continuing the conversation in the fall semester—and beyond.
Faculty Accomplishments and Achievements
This past March, English faculty members Genevieve Betts, Austin Eichelberger, Joseph Klemens, and Jared Valdez travelled to Los Angeles to present at the AWP Conference, the largest annual gathering of writers in North America. The panel acceptance process is very competitive, and our faculty shone alongside fellow panelist Tammy Wolf, a professor at CNM. The panel topic was “Using Open Educational Resources (OER) in Literature and Creative Writing Courses.” Almost every class offered in English and Communications at SFCC uses OER and does not require a textbook purchase.
Deborah Begel interviewed two founders of the string quartet ETHEL, Ralph Farris and Dorothy Lawson, on Classical Explorations on KSFR on 2/16/25. Farris and Lawson discussed their 27-year history, their latest releases, and their ongoing fondness for collaborating with musicians and composers around the world.
Genevieve Betts published two poems in the online journal Unleash Lit in January (“Operating Theater” and “The Threads”) and one poem in the print journal Dunes Review in February (“My Middle-Aged Body”). Betts also has two poems forthcoming in the print anthology Grey Matter: An Anthology of Contemporary Medical Poems (“Surgery Simulation” and “Post-Op”). Betts gave readings for the issue launches of the newest issue and the upcoming anthology for Grey Matter in December and April, read for the issue launch of Dunes Review in February, and, along with Austin Eichelberger, participated in the Stalking Horse Press Authors & Friends reading at the AWP conference in LA.
Austin Eichelberger and Jared Valdez were interviewed for Alyssa Milano’s podcast, Sorry Not Sorry, which tackles social, political and cultural issues from the perspective of unapologetic guests while highlighting activists doing amazing things throughout the country. The episode for which they were interviewed is entitled “Writing as a Force for Good – Reporting from AWP25.” You can listen for free, here.
Joseph Klemens’ online art portfolio is forthcoming in the literary magazine Zyzzyva. Dr. Klemens will also be presenting his first solo art exhibition at Ray Drew Gallery, located in the NMHU library, in September. The exhibition is titled “Hour of Departure.”
Andrew Lovato received a grant to create an OER handbook on the topic of effective verbal presentation. The handbook will be used in our Communications courses and across the curriculum and will be available to educators across the nation.
