Richards will Devote Sabbatical to Ecocriticism

By TANYA CORNELL-KESTLER

By the end of his spring 2007 sabbatical, Professor of English Doug Richards expects to be a better ecocritic.

“Over the past five years or so, I have developed a sustained and compelling interest in a school of critical thought called ‘ecocriticism,’ an approach to the study of literature rooted in themes and questions related to the natural environment,” explained Richards, who teaches Children’s Literature; Shakespeare; British Literature; Poems, Plays, and Prose; Structure and History of the English Language; College English I; and College English II.

Richards has presented several papers on ecocritical themes at national conferences, including two at the biennial conferences of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (ASLE), the principal national organization for scholars interested in the study of literature and the environment. He also presented a paper at a national conference in Shakespeare studies and another at a state-wide conference of the College English Association.

What he hasn’t had is “a lot of time to get fully immersed” in environmental literature, including reading “critical works and defining texts.

“One of the most attractive features of an ecocritical approach to literary study is its strong interdisciplinary nature,” said Richards. “Ecocritics tend to explore questions that require conversations across disciplines: with biologists, geologists, economists, anthropologists, and students of public policy, as well as historians, art historians, philosophers, and religious scholars.”

In addition to furthering his expertise in ecocriticism, Richards wants to develop a proposal for a new course in environmental literature and to develop a proposal for an interdisciplinary program in environmental studies at Keuka. He has held talks about that program with colleagues in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

“An environmental studies program emphasizes the study of the environment from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and combines the study of courses in science, literature, philosophy, and the social sciences,” said Richards, who added that such a program would “complement existing programs” at Keuka. 

He plans on researching, observing, and participating in environmental studies programs in the northeastern United States, and “possibly elsewhere in the country.

“I am fortunate to live in a state and region that contains some of the oldest and most respected environmental studies programs and students of environment issues in the country,” said Richards, who resides in Vermont and commutes to the College for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday classes (see story below). “Programs, colleagues, and additional resources in environmental studies at Middlebury College, the University of Vermont in Burlington, Green Mountain College and a number of other institutions in the area will provide me with a rich base of opportunity for my sabbatical leave.”

Richards hopes to arrange visits to programs and resources in Boston, Maine, eastern New York, and Washington, DC. 

This is Richards’ second sabbatical since he came to Keuka in 1987. His first, in the mid-90s, focused on assembling a collection of materials on the first-year college experience.

In addition to Keuka, he has taught part-time at Canisius College, Buffalo State College, Finger Lakes Community College, University of Rochester, and the Community College of Vermont.

Richards was selected Keuka’s Professor of the Year in 2000.  

Going the Distance

Richards Commutes from Vermont Each Week

Many people would consider a five-hour commute to work out of the question.

But not Professor of English Doug Richards, who has been commuting to the College from Vermont since 2000.

Richards moved from Canandaigua to Middlebury, Vt., when his wife was appointed a U.S. bankruptcy judge in the state.

“It was an opportunity for her to fulfill a lifelong dream,” said Richards, who looked for teaching positions in Vermont when he and his family first moved there. “The more I looked, the more I realized how much I liked teaching at Keuka. Keuka College students are good people. I’m doing the kind of teaching I always wanted to do here.”  

So, instead of finding a job closer to home, Richards arranged his class schedule in a way that only has him driving to and from the College once a week.

Richards leaves the house between 4:30 and 5 a.m. Tuesday mornings. He teaches Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes and heads for home Thursday evening. He stays overnight in a College guesthouse Tuesday and Wednesday.

He works from home Mondays and Fridays.

“Though I’m not physically present on Mondays and Fridays, I’m very accessible by e-mail and phone,” said Richards. “I would argue that I’m more in touch with my students now than when I commuted from Canandaigua. I think we ‘talk’ more via e-mail than we did when they would show up at my office. I’m better in writing anyway, so I tend to give better advice (in e-mail messages).

“I tell my students that a great time to get a hold of me on my cell phone is when I’m commuting to work on Tuesday or commuting back to Vermont on Thursday,” said Richards, who noted that he uses a hands-free device in the car.

He also listens to books and college classes on tape during the drive. Tuesday mornings, he uses the five-hour block to prepare for class.

“I’ll listen to a Shakespeare play on my way in.” 

The Rise and Fall of Methodism

Will be the Focus of McKenzie’s Sabbatical

By Gretchen Parsells

In 1851, there was opportunity and adventure to be had for the young, unattached men of the time.

There was also a great need for able-bodied young men to help forge a path through the wilderness of the untamed American west.

Horace Greeley, founder of the New Yorker and editor of the New York Tribune told a generation of single males to “go west, young man.”

Keuka College Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion Mike McKenzie is heeding that advice handed out more than 150 years ago.

McKenzie is headed to Oregon to work on a book about the rise and fall of Methodism.

“The book will cover two areas, including New York state and the Pacific Northwest,” said McKenzie, who will be on sabbatical until the advent of the fall 2007 semester.

Since McKenzie has been at Keuka, he has spent the summers in Oregon and Washington to conduct research, and his sabbatical will allow him to “focus on more concentrated research.

“I have been able to do a lot of my New York state research while I’ve been teaching, highlighting the area of Lowville,” said McKenzie. “Now, the project has moved in a new direction.”

McKenzie, whose research centers on the years 1840-1910, said that in the early 1840s, Methodism was the fastest growing religion but by 1910, it was falling apart. He attributes this in part to the geography and environment of large portions of Oregon and Washington. Because the climate is drier, people used more land to plant crops on their farms. This led to less land being used for churches, which in turn led to less attendance.

“In the 1800s, there used to be a lot of Methodist churches, each being about a half-hour buggy ride away,” said McKenzie. “There were many wasted ‘church planting’ years, and the Methodists thought attendance would improve with the invention of the car, but it didn’t.”

One of the people McKenzie hopes to learn more about is Methodist preacher James Wilbur.

To help McKenzie in his research efforts, he has enlisted the help of people he has known over the years. In addition, he has visited several Methodist church sites, and talked to people who may have knowledge about a particular site.

“My job as an author is to make the experiences of others clear enough so the reader understands what the event was like,” said McKenzie, who has always liked to write.

McKenzie has written three books and edited one.

“Now I feel driven to write, because if you like what you are doing, don’t you want to share that with other people?,” said McKenzie.

Taking Action at
Corning Inc.

Emig’s Project Improves Effectiveness of Department

By TANYA CORNELL-KESTLER

After more than 20 years with Corning Inc., Darla Emig, operations manager for the analytical laboratory Characterization Science & Services (CS&S), was bored with work flow systems.

However, the 2006 Keuka College graduate was “invigorated” by the Action Research Project (ARP) required for her master of science in management degree, offered through the College’s Accelerated Studies for Adults Program (ASAP).

“The Action Research Project begins early in the M.S. in management program and culminates with a major report and PowerPoint presentation at the end of the program,” said Rolf Zerges, ASAP instructor and adviser of Emig’s Corning Community College cohort. “The project usually involves the development and implementation of strategies to address a problem found in the student’s place of employment. It involves the systematic development of a research plan, an extensive literature review, the implementation of research aimed at addressing the problem, and an action plan. Unlike many research projects, the ARP focuses on issues that are important to the student, and usually results in actions that have concrete value to the organization.”

Zerges said Emig, "produced an exemplary action research project at Corning Inc. Her work documented the problem well, actively involved others within Corning, and resulted in actions that improved the effectiveness of her department.”

“It is quite literally the backbone of our multi-million dollar operation,” said Emig.

“I have managed the LIMS software since 1987,” said Emig. “It was there and doing its job. However, as I started reading the literature on LIMS, I almost fell off my chair at how behind I let it become; I was managing a dinosaur.”

Through her research, which included visits to Dow Corning and Dow Chemical to find out how they were using LIMS, Emig determined LIMS could be better utilized at Corning Inc.

“We only used LIMS as an internal analytical laboratory tool,” said Emig. “When the application extension MyLIMS was developed, it enabled LIMS to become an information tool for research and development. This was a major philosophical change in the way that I thought a LIMS should be used. The value of LIMS is now more broadly deployed. It is useful for the analytical lab and it is now also a useful tool for the research and development community.

According to Emig, the organization began making changes in summer 2005 and beta tested the new system from September 2005 through May 2006. The new system was fully implemented in July.

“I would never have done this without the push [from the ARP],” said Emig, who valued the support, encouragement and expertise of Zerges. “I found out I had a lot of work left in me, and lot to give the organization. I look at this as my legacy to Corning.”

Emig’s writing also improved, thanks to the master’s program.

“My e-mails are smarter, clearer and more concise,” said Emig, whose “lifelong dream” has been to earn a master’s degree. She chose Keuka because a friend’s son attended the College and she knew that Keuka “emphasizes the student.” That fact was evidenced during her campus visit and meeting with Jack Farrell, director of admissions in the Center for Professional Studies and International Programs.  

Emig is going to deliver a presentation on the benefits of running a laboratory with LIMS at the Analytical Laboratory Managers Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas, next October.

She is anxious to start the “next phase” of her career, hopefully in academia.