New Writing Major Will Cut Number of Adjuncts

Correction appended.

A new creative writing major slated for the 2007-2008 academic year will replace the General Studies literature-writing major and allow Columbia College students to major in creative writing for the first time.

The new major has beginning and intermediate courses open to all students and non-majors as well as advanced courses exclusively for majors. There will be new seminars and workshops in fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Students who are currently enrolled in the GS major and the CC Writing Program will have the option of finishing out their original plans of study.

On Tuesday, Ben Marcus, the chair of the writing division at the School of the Arts sent an e-mail to students enrolled in the undergraduate Writing Program to officially announce the new major in which he emphasized its literature seminars and its close alignment with the graduate school. "This is an exciting step, as undergraduates will now be able to immerse themselves in a program modeled after the graduate MFA creative writing program," he stated in the e-mail.

The proposed major was introduced last semester to Deans of General Studies, Columbia College, and the Committees on Instruction and was quickly approved.

Central to the new program is decision by the School of the Arts' writing division to hire three, new, full-time faculty members. Funding for the new positions will be diverted from money traditionally used to hire adjunct professors. About a third of the current adjuncts will not be rehired, but they will be able to apply for the full-time positions.

"Full-time faculty as a group is exceedingly important for our mission," said Peter Awn, dean of the School of General Studies. "We can't run a major based predominately on the work of adjunct faculty." He said that the schools routinely review departments to determine what they lack in this regard.

Some courses in the current writing curriculum will be eliminated, which has sparked anger from some adjunct faculty members in the current Writing Program.

"Many of us have been here for over thirty years," said Dale Worsley, a fifteen-year adjunct with the Program.

Worsley praised the achievements of the current program and expressed concerns with the changes being made. "Overall, there seems to be a lack of understanding of the unique nature and culture of the Writing Program to serve students in a nurturing, studio-like, non-academic, but nevertheless rigorous atmosphere," he said in a statement.

Adjuncts have also expressed concerns that the program will be unable to accommodate the current student demand, as well as a majority of non-major students. After students received Tuesday's announcement, Marcus restated a day later that the new program is open to all students.

"I'm sympathetic to their concerns," Marcus said of the adjuncts. "The adjunct faculty are a vital component of the creative writing program."

Others are receiving the new major enthusiastically. John DiSalvo, GS, said he intends to declare the new major this semester. "It's about time-to be able to take classes in the School of the Arts is a great opportunity," he said.

Worsley, along with fifteen other adjuncts, formed an informal committee to communicate their concerns to the School of Arts. "There will be plenty of room for non-majors in the creative writing workshops and seminars," he reassured them.

Renée E. D'Aoust, GS '01, who majored in literature-writing, said she was worried about the changes. "Both the full-time and adjunct faculty were available and incredibly supportive, and I've continued to keep in touch with all of them post-graduation," she said, adding that the program "was exactly what I wanted and needed."

CORRECTION: This article was accompanied by a text box in the print edition that mistated the number of points that the former Columbia College program required as nine. The actual number was 18 points. The same article also misattributed a quote to Dale Worsley that was said by Ben Marcus.