UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES Date: Tuesday October 14,2003 Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Place: Room 424, University Centre
AGENDA
2.1.0 CALL TO ORDER
2.2.0 APPROVAL OF AGENDA
2.3.0 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD September 9,2003 (attached) 3.1 Business Arising from the Minutes (a) Minimum Stipends for Graduate Students (b) Web Site
2.4.0 NEW BUSINESS 4.1 Executive Committee Intellectual Property Policy (documentation attached) 4.2 Admissions and Progress Committee (a) Review of Calendar Policies (b) Language Waivers 4.3 Programs Committee (a) Additions to the Graduate Faculty (documentation attached) (b) Master of Fine Art - Creative Writing (documentation attached)
2.5.0 Reports of the Dean and Associate Dean (a) Report of the Dean - CAGS - Automation of Data Management for OCGS Briefs - Graduate Co-ordinators Workshop (b) Report of the Associate Dean - World of Work Schedule
2.6.0 Correspondence Review of MA Co-op in Economics (for information)
2.7.0 OTHER BUSINESS
2.8.0 ADJOURNMENT
Distribution: I. Heathcote C. McKenna B. Mancini J. Norris L. Grabum A. Nassuth T. Gillespie A. Hahnel K. Inwood L. Mahood M. Schlaf S. Perrault R. McMath C. Schroeder B. Dent C. Knipe SENATE OFFICE
MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Graduate Studies
FROM: Irene Birrell, Secretary of Senat
DATE: October 9,2003
SUBJECT: Intellectual Property Policy
Some of you will know that for some time a special committee struck by the Senate Executive Committee has been working on various aspects of intellectual property policy. That committee identified two areas in particular in which there is a policy gap: policy with respect to coursework and distance education courses and policy with respect to students.
After discussion at WPC, the Acting Vice-President Academic and Provost has asked that the Board of Graduate Studies take on responsibility for developing a policy for students. The Executive Committee of the Board has agreed that, rather than begin from scratch, we should build on the work done to date. Attached is the draft policy as at February 2000. Included is a I memorandum from Donna Woolcott (chair of the special committee at that time) flagging some issues still to be resolved.
In order to move this forward expeditiously, the Executive Committee suggests that the Board discuss the draft at its October 14" meeting. Isobel Heathcote and Bradley Dent will then revise the draft in light of the discussion for further consideration, with the goal of having a final document ready by the end of this semester.
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GWH. ONTARIO . CANADA . NlGZWl . TEL.(519)824-4120, EXT. 56760 . FAX(519)767-1350 Office of the Provost and Vice -President (Academic) Interoffice Memorandum
February 7,2000
Memo to: Isobel Heathcote, Dean, Graduate Studies
From: Donna Woolcott, Assistant Vice-president (Academic)
Re: Intellectual Property Policy for Students
- I have done some revisions to the Intellectual Policy document as it pertains to students. I have looked at the Board of Graduate Studies input and have met with K;~Daly to get his additional amplification of the issues that were raised at the BGS. At this stage before it goes for formal review by the Board, I would appreciate your advice on whether this policy is close to what you think we need. The one piece I am wondering about is the issue of ownership of data When grad students leave the university this can be an issue. Not sure the policy in its current form really gives advice about this in all the various research arrangements that students find themselves.
I am also not clear on what the intent was in the section under Individual Agreements for the sub- committee of the Board to review See section IV.4. What do you think of this section??
Once you have had a chance to review this draft I would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you to talk about it. I am not sure we have it as user tiiendly in terms of readability as it needs to be.
To ease your reading I have bolded the new things I have added and have indicated where I am striking out old wording. At the end of the document I have left in a couple of Connie's original queries. I am not sure what the BGS stance was as these areas were not addressed in the feedback from the Board. Thanks! I
Donna Woolcott DRAFT POLICY ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF STUDEhTS (Revised February 2000 by Dm SCOPE
While other University policies on intellectual property also apply to students as creators of intellectual property or contributors to its creation, this policy is concerned with issues of unique or special relevance to students. The policy applies to all graduate and under-mduate students of the University, whether currently or formerly enrolled in the University, and to faculty members and staff in any case involving a student's intellectual property.
I. INTRODUCTION
Graduate and undergraduate students will in the course of their studies generate materials in which they have intellectual property rights.
Very often, students will be collaborators in the generation of intellectual property. Their rights as well as the rights of all other collaborators must be protected. Faculty members, as well as staff, may make substantial contributions to the work of students and will in that case have intellectual property rights that must be defined in the work and protected. Similarly, students may make substantial contributions to work which is not primarily their own; again their rights must be protected. All contributions by students and others must be appropriately recognized.
The rights of students, faculty, and staff may be affected by agreements between the oarties or between the University and sponsors of research. The impact of such agreements must be clearly understood, and the s&dentlsinterests must be protected;o the degree possible.
Universities have a responsibility to support the academic propss and career development of students. As teachers, advisors, evaluators, and referees, faculty are uniquely influential in students' lives and must be careful never to abuse their positions of responsibility.
11. AUTHORSHIP AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I. RIGHTS OF AUTHORSHIP
a. A share in authorship should be granted to those individuals who have made a substantial intellectual contribution to a student's work and only to those individuals.
b. It is not &idappropriate for a faculty or staff member to request a share in authorship where a substantial intellectual contribution has not been made, nor is it &kd necessary for a student to accede to such a request or to offer a share in authorship in this case.
c. Providing fmancial support for a student--for example, through external funding--is not in itself sufficient cause to justify a share in authorship for the provider of that support. d. Providing editorial work for a student's dissertation, thesis, or paper is not in itself sufficient cause to justify a share in authorship. I e. A student may not claim a share in authorship solely on the basis of having been employed to complete work on a research project. If that work clearly involves creative and intellectual aspects, such as design and interpretation of results, then authorship may be warranted. Routine repetitive work such as laboratory analysis normally would not warrant a share in authorship.
f. A written agreement should be created early in the research process which outlines the rights of authorship of all parties involved. This agreement should be reviewed and revised, as appropriate, if the roles or responsibilities of any of the paties change during the course of the research.
2. RECOGNITION OF AUTHORS ON PUBLICATIONS
Issues of authorship including factors that may determine the final order of authorship should be discussed before a student commences work on a project, or as soon thereafter as possible. It is the responsibility of faculty generally, and of senior members of research teams and graduate student advisors in particular, to ensure that an explicit understanding about the listing of authors has been reached with all student collaborators.
3. AUTHORSHIP AND DISSERTATIONS, THESES, OR COURSE PAPERS
a. The student is normally the first author on a publication based upon hisher dissertation, thesis, or paper produced for a course. In circumstances where the student is not listed as the first author, the advisor or joint authors must provide the student with a compelling rationale for the order proposed, and must do so prior to submission of the work for publication.
b. Any work published using material present in a student's dissertation, thesis. or paper should acknowledge the student work on which it is based.
4. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MATERIALS AND DATA
Materials or data generated by another person and used in a student's dissertation, thesis, or paper must be adequately and appropriately cited. The prior permission of the person who awm has stewardship of the material must be obtained.
111. STUDENT'S RIGHTS OF COMMUNICATION AND ACCESS
1. RIGHT TO PRESENT AND DISCUSS RESEARCH WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY Students should be free to present and discuss their research in the usual Uni~ersityfora. Except in specific, defined circumstances, research data and findings generated in the course of a 1 student's dissertation, thesis, or course work will not be considered confidential and may, therefore, be examined and discussed in a public defence.
If the research project associated with a student's dissertation or thesis is funded by a contractual or other agreement between the sponsor and the University, concerns about the protection of patent rights may arise. Wherever possible, provision should be made to allow for the public defence of materials deemed confidential under the terms of a contract or other agreement. Where this is not possible, provision should be made for a defence before a restricted audience. In no case may a defence be prevented or deferred. In the event that a closed defence is required by contractual agreement, the Faculty of Graduate Studies will be responsibte for overseeing the approval process and the conduct of the defence.
2. RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLICATION
Publication or communication of confidential work in which students have authorship may be restricted by contractual obligation. Publication or communication of such work may be deferred for no longer than twelve months, except with the approval of the Vice-President Research and the Dean of Graduate Studies. In no circumstances may it be deferred beyond twenty-four months.
3. ACCESS TO RESEARCH MATERIALS
Students who are co-authors must have reasonable continuing access to research materials or data they have helped to generate, in order to verify claims made in any publication. Such students retain rights to the original materials, but these may be subject to individual a-geement or contractual obligations with a sponsor.
4. IMPACT OF CONTRACTS
Where possible, students should not base a dissertation, thesis, or major paper required for degree completion on contract research, because there may be contractual restrictions on the communication of research, whose possible impact is not always fully clear when the research is first undertaken.
The language of a contract is legally binding and will supersede any University policy. Thus, it is the responsibility of the officers of the University negotiating a conmct to ensure that the language of the contract provides the greatest degee of fieedom possible for a student engaged in contract research.
Any student who participates in a thesis research project that has any restrictions or potential restrictions on the openness of defence or on the release of findings, must be informed at the outset of the thesis research. The following issues should be addressed in a contract:
a. In principle, students should be free to defend dissertation or thesis related work in public. Contracts should nor be drawn up which prevent defence of the work or interfere with degree requirements.
b. Where possible, the freedom of the student to defend histher work in an open, public forum should be explicitly included in the contract. If this is not possible, the contract should include language to permit the final examination of a thesis in the presence of a restricted audience.
c. The contract should exclude deferment of the defence of the dissertation or thesis.
d. The contract may include deferment of publication and communication for up to twelve months, or in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Vice-President Research and the Dean of Graduate Studies, may include deferment of publication and communication for up to twenty-four months.
e. The contract should make specific reference to any particular requirements to report incidents or claims of infringement of intellectual property rights.
JY. INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENTS
1. Students, faculty and staff may enter into individual agreements in which they waive intellectual property rights.
2. The intent to establish an individual agreement ofany kind should be part of an explicit understanding when a graduate student is offered a position on a research project.
3. Individual agreements must be completed before the student commences a significant portion of the research or within three months ofjoining a research laboratory.
4. All individual agreements affecting graduate students must be reviewed and approved by a sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Programs of the Board of Graduate Studies.
a. The sub-committee will comprise the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, a member of the Board of Graduate Studies, and a member of the Research Board. One of these two board members must be a graduate student. The sub-committee will be advised by a staff member from Graduate Program Senices and by a staffmember from the Office of Research.
b. The purpose of the sub-committee is to review the draft agreement to ensure that it does not impose unreasonable conditions on the student. c. The Executive Committee of the Board of Graduate Studies may annul any individual agreement or ask for a redrafting if it is believed that unreasonable conditions are being imposed on the student. [QUERY: The sub-committee refers any concerns to the Executive Committee? Concerns always follow this route? How can the Executive Committee annul an agreement if the prior approval of the sub-committee is required? Is this a grandfather clause? Or does it address the possibility of the sub-committee having made a mistake?]
V. UNIVERSITY'S RIGHT OF ACCESS TO STUDENT WORK
[NOTE: taken from Copyright Policy] This policy is still under review (as of Feb 2000 so there may be changes.
1. When a student produces work eligible for copyright that is based on research or other scholarly activity performed under the supervision of a faculty member and required by hisher academic program, the University reserves the right of access to the work. The student, however. would own copyright to the work. [QUERY: is "under the supervision of a faculty member" ambiguous?]
2. It is a condition of a student's participation in the undergraduate and graduate programs of the University that the University receives a non-exclusive, royalty &ee license to:
a circulate the work as part of the University library collection;
b, make copies or representations of the work for academic purposes within the University;
c. make single copies of a dissertation or thesis deposited in the University Library at the request of other universities or bona fide institutions;
d. make the work available to the National Library of Canada for microfilming; and
e. publish the abstract of any dissertation or thesis. BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES STANDING COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMS September 29,2003
Approved by the Dean Special Graduate Faculty Dutton, Christopher J. BVSc, BSc Bristol (United Kingdom); MSc Royal Veterinary College and Institute of Zoology (London, U.K.) -staff veterinarian; Toronto zoo, ~oroito,Ont.1 Pathobiology (Serve on DVSc examination comm. of R. Olberg)
For Auuroval Regular Graduate Faculty Gharabaghi, Bahram BSc Iran (Tehran); MSc Sharif Univ. of Technology (Tehran); PhD Guelph -Assistant ProfessorEngineering Halling, Krista-Britt DVM Guelph -Assistant ProfessorIClinical Studies
Special Graduate Faculty Campbell, John R. DVM, DVSc Guelph -Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of aska at chew an, ~askatdon/po~u~ationMedicine (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of L. McDonald) Fischer, David L. BS Massachusetts (Amherst); MS Western Illinois (Macomb); PhD Brigham Young (Provo, Utah) -Manager, Ecotoxicology Group, Bayer Corporation, Agriculture Division, Kansas City, Missouri/Environmental Biology (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of A. King) Ford, Robert P. BSc, MSc Toronto -Senior Hydroclimatologist, Monitoring Services Division, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington, Ont./Land Resource Science (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of T. Rowlandson) Sovani, Altaf CHE (Certified Hospitality Educator) Educational Institute of American Hotel and Motel Assoc.; MBA Guelph -President, Alzen Training Consultants Inc., Nepean, 0nt.Bospitality and Tourism Management (Teach graduate level courses)
Associated Graduate Faculty
Agarwal,. Naresh C. BA, MA Delhi (India); PhD Minnesota (Minneapolis) -Professor of Human Resources, McMaster Univ., Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, Hamilton, 0nt.iPsychology (Serve on PhD advisory comm. of D. Miller) Beisner, Beatrix E. BSc Guelph; MSc Calgary; PhD British Columbia -Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec/Zoology (Serve on MSc advisory comms. of M. Cameron, J. Feduszczak, J. Hovius, & S. Wyshynski, and PhD advisory comm. of K. Finlay) Buttle, James M. BA Toronto; PhD Southampton -Chair and Professor, Dept. of Geography, Trent Univ., Peterborough, Ont.Environmenta1 Biology (Serve on PhD advisory comm. of 0. Plascencia-Escalante) Callaghan, Jack P. BPE Ottawa; MSc, PhD Waterloo -Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology, Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont./Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of A. Salweytsch) Lewis, Susanna M. BS Jackson College (Tufts Univ., Medford, Massachusetts); PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge) -Associate Professor, Dept. of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, Univ. of Toronto, and Senior Scientist, Program in Genetics and Genomic Biology, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto/Molecular Biology and Genetics (Serve on PhD advisory comm. of A. Ruksc) McBean, Gordon A. BSc British Columbia; MSc McGill; PhD British Columbia -Professor, Departments of Geography and Political Science, Univ. of Western Ontario, LondonIGeography (Serve on PhD advisoq comm. of J. Ford) I MOTION: that the Board of Graduate Studies approves the proposed additions to the Graduate Faculty. BOARD OF GRADUATE STUDIES STANDING COMMITTEE ON PROGRAMS September 29,2003
Auuroved bv the Dean Svecial Graduate Faculty Dutton, Christopher J. BVSc, BSc Bristol (United Kingdom); MSc Royal Veterinary College and Institute of Zoology (London, U.K.) -Staff Veterinarian, Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Ont.1 Pathobiology (Serve on DVSc examination comm. of R. Olberg)
For Auuroval Regular Graduate Faculty Gharabaghi,- Bahram BSc Iran (Tehran); MSc Sharif Univ. of Technology-. (Tehran); PhD GueIph -Assistant ProfessorIEngineering Halling, Krista-Britt DVM Guelph -Assistant Professor/Clinical Studies
Special Graduate Faculty Campbell, John R. DVM, DVSc Guelph -Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon/Population Medicine (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of L. McDonald) Fischer, David L. BS Massachusetts (Amherst); MS Western Illinois (Macomb); PhD Brigham Young (Provo, Utah) -Manager, Ecotoxicology Group, Bayer Corporation, Agriculture Division, Kansas City, MissourilEnvironmental Biology (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of A. King) Ford, Robert P. BSc, MSc Toronto -Senior Hydroclimatologist, Monitoring Services Division, i Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment Canada, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Burlington, Ont./Land Resource Science (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of T. Rowlandson) Sovani, Altaf CHE (Certified Hospitality Educator) Educational Institute of American Hotel and Motel Assoc.; MBA Guelph -President, Alze11 Training Consultants Inc., Nepean, 0nt.iHospitality and Tourism Management (Teach graduate level courses)
Associated Graduate Faculty Agarwal, Naresh C. BA, MA Delhi (India); PhD Minnesota (Minneapolis) -Professor of Human Resources, McMaster Univ., Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, Hamilton, 0nt.lPsychology (Serve on PhD advisory comm. of D. Miller) Beisner, Beatrix E. BSc Guelph; MSc Calgary; PhD British Columbia -Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, Quebec/Zoology (Serve on MSc advisory comms. of M. Cameron, J. Feduszczak, J. Hovius, & S. Wyshynski, and P.~Dadvisory comm. of K. Finlay) Buttle, James M. BA Toronto; PbD Southampton -Chair and Professor, Dept. of Geography, Trent Univ., Peterborough, Ont.lEnvironmenta1 Biology (Serve on PhD advisoly comm. of 0. Plascencia-Escalante) Callaghan, Jack P. BPE Ottawa; MSc, PhD Waterloo -Assistant Professor, Dept. of Kinesiology, Univ. of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont./Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences (Serve on MSc advisory comm. of A. Salweytsch) Lewis, Susanna M. BS Jackson College (Tufts Univ., Medford, Massachusetts); PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge) -Associate Professor, Dept. of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, Univ. of Toronto, and Senior Scientist, Program in Genetics and Genomic Biology, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto/Molecular Biology and Genetics (Serve on PhD advisory comm. of A. Ruksc) McBean, Gordon A. BSc British Columbia; MSc McGill; PhD British Columbia -Professor, Departments of Geography and Political Science, Univ. of Western Ontario, LondonIGeography (Serve on PhD advisory cornm. of J. Ford) 1 MOTION: that the Board of Graduate Studies approves the proposed additions to the Graduate Faculty. SENATE OFFICE
MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Graduate Studies
FROM: Irene Birrell, Secretary of Senate
DATE: October 9,2003
SUBJECT: Master of Fine Art in Creative Writing
In 1992, the Board of Graduate Studies and Senate approved a proposal for a Masters of Fine Art in Creative Writing. The Board recommended approval with the understanding that the program would not go forward until the necessary resources became available, and it was on this basis that it received Senate approval. OCGS also approved the proposal but, presumably because of resource issues, the program was never mounted.
The School of English and Theatre Studies would now like to establish the program. Because of the length of time that has passed since the original approval, the program must once again be submitted to OCGS, and a new submission is being prepared.
As background for the Board, attached is the original proposal along with the relevant excerpt from the Senate minutes of February 1992. Although the program will be unchanged in the essentials, there are some details that need to be updated. Material with respect to these details will be provided at the meeting.
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GUELeH . ONTARIO . CANADA NlGZWl TEL. (519) 824-4120, MT.56760 . FAX (519) 767-1350 Reactivation of the MFA in Creative Writing Backpround In 1991, the Department of English developed a proposal for an MFA in Creative Writing that was approved by both the University of Guelph Senate and the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies. Senate granted approval of the program on the basis of its academic content and stated that the program could be offered when resources became available. It has been a long wait. However, we now have approval to proceed from the President, the Acting Provost, the Dean of Graduate Studies, the Dean of the College of Arts, and the Director of the School of English and Theatre Studies. The matter is being forwarded to the Board of Graduate Studies and Senate for information and any discussion. The long delay in implementing this program means that we now have a somewhat different and larger facultv comvlement. as well as imvroved infrastructure for students and faculty. We neeato report thesechanges to OCGS through a standard appraisal process, such as was conducted in the early 1990s. However, the program we intend to mount is identical to that which was approved by Senate and by OCGS in its earlier appraisal. The only significant difference involves probable participation by faculty at the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. The program will report to the Director of the School of English and Theatre Studies, and Dr. Constance Rooke will be its Interim Director. It is our hope that the first intake of students will occur in Fall 2004; however, if OCGS approval cannot be obtained expeditiously, the start of the program will be postponed to Fall 2005. The pool of writers on faculty and staff at the University of Guelph who are qualified to participate in the MFA program in a variety of roles has grown appreciably since the program received Senate approval. In addition to such distinguished members of the School of English and Theatre Studies as Thomas King, Janice Kulyk Keefer, and Judith Thompson, it now includes Cecil Foster (Sociology & Anthropology), Stephen Henighan (Languages & Literatures), Sandra Sabatini (Research Officer in the College of Arts), Mary Swan (Library), and a number of others. As well, we hope to benefit from the expertise of writing colleagues at Humber: in particular, Joe Kertes, Dean of the School of Creative & Performing Arts at the Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, and Antanas Sileka, Artistic Director of the Humber School for Writers. (The Humber School for Writers offers both a Correspondence Program in Creative Writing and a Summer Workshop and has developed a strong reputation in the field.) Proeram Overview Students seeking admission to the program will normally have an honours (or equivalent) undergraduate degree, which can be in any field, and must provide a substantial portfolio of written work (published or unpublished fiction, poetry, or drama), as well as three letters of reference and a letter of application in which they state their aspirations as writers. They will be selected primarily on the basis of the portfolio. We expect to admit approximately 21 students in the first year, and to increase enrolment over time to approximate 30 new students each year. A small proportion of students may be admitted under alternate admission criteria, as described in the Graduate Calendar. Students will be required to take two semester-long workshops, a reading seminar and an independent reading course, and two plenary courses. Following the successful completion of these courses, the student will write a creative thesis. This is expected to be a book-length work \ of publishable quality and is the single most important component of the degree program. \ Workshops (6 credits) will be offered in fiction, poetry, and drama; students may choose 1 to take two workshops in the same genre (with different instructors) or switch to a different genre for the workshop taken in the second semester. A reading course (3 credits) will he offered in each of the three genres in the first semester and must be taken in concert with the workshop chosen; an independent reading course (3 credits) will be pursued in the second semester of study. Students enrolled in all three workshops will come together for the plenary courses (3 credits each): "Writers on Writing" in the first semester and "Writers in the World" in the second semester. Instructors for courses within the program will be regular core faculty and writers employed on a contract basis as Associated Graduate Faculty. Visiting writers from both Canada and abroad will be brought in on a regular basis, for periods ranging from a day to several weeks. Visitors will give readings, participate in courses, and consult with students. Each student will be paired with a mentor, who will take a special interest in the student's work, and serve as advisor or co-advisor of the student's thesis. (A mentor who is a member of the Associated Graduate Faculty will be termed co-advisor, and a regular member of faculty will serve as the other co- advisor.) Conclusion This is an exciting program that the University of Guelph is exceptionally well- positioned to offer, both geographically and in terms of the diversity and strength of our faculty. Our ability to cover the three main fields of fiction, poetry, and drama is clear; and the innovative design of the program has received enthusiastic endorsement by writers, editors, and publishers across Canada, many of whom have expressed an interest in participating in the program as instructors, mentors, or visitors. We expect there to he a high level of demand for this program, which will be the only MFA program in Creative Writing in Ontario, and one of very ) few in Canada. Creative Writins - Department of Enqlish Lansuase & Literature
MOTION: that Dr. Kulyk-Keefer be granted speaking privileges. The motion was carried. Dr. Dalrymple-Alford outlined that the Board of Graduate Studies had some preliminary difficulty with this proposal given that it necessitates an increase in resources. At present these resources have not been made available. The Board of Graduate Studies supports the academic merit of the program noting that it is an excellent and distinctive one, and fills a very specific need. The Board of Graduate Studies has therefore approved the proposal on its academic merit. He asked that Senate also consider the proposal solely on its academic merit. C. Rooke spoke to the proposal noting that when it was initiated the financial climate at the University of Guelph was very different. She asked that Senate consider approving it so that when the finances become available, the department can go forward. In addition, if the proposal is approved, she can begin some fund raising which could help to support it. She predicted that her preliminary discussions with numerous sources indicate that fund raising is a possibility. She hypothesized that there will be an exceptional synergy between the creative writing program and the Masters Program in English. In addition, the program will support other programs in the College of Arts, particularly Fine Art, Drama and Music and fits nicely within the specific global focus of the University. She stated that there is a great need in Canada for this type of program, at present there are only four such programs in Canada. The writing community has indicated a need for a prestigious writing program. She concurred that the financial implications are not small, but feels that the resources can be found without jeopardizing other programs. She reminded Senate that the English Department has a very distinguished group of female writers which will enhance the program. Shirley Senoff, an English student, voiced her strong support for the motion, and asked if the student initiative, Carousel Magazine, could somehow be incorporated in the M.F.A. Program. C. Rooke responded that there will be a great deal of opportunity for those involved in Carousel to meet with the great writers on campus. This program has the advantage that it will attract high quality writers to the University of Guelph.
MOTION: that Senate approve the proposed M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing. The motion was carried. (c) New Program Prooosal
Master of Fine Arts Degree Program in Creative Writing -- Department of English Language and Literature The accompanying proposal for a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing has passed through the usual stages of scrutiny and revision, approval by the Programs Committee of the Board of Graduate Studies, and by the Board itself. Implementation of the program will require approval by Senate, and a positive appraisal by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies. It will also require additional resources, primarily in the area of staffing. (The Department of English Language and Literature does have the necessary core of well- qualified faculty, but the program, as the proposal implies, cannot be implemented without the assistance of the proposed Associated Graduate Faculty.) The Board's recommendation that Senate approve the program is a reflection of the Board's assessment that the program as proposed is academically sound and would make a fine addition to the University's offerings were the additional necessary resources provided.
MOTION: that Senate approve the proposed M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing. UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
Proposal for a Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph
Description of Program
February 1992 A . INTRODUCTION ...... 3 RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES ...... 3 SCHEDULE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROGRAM ...... 7 FIELDS ON WHICH THE PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ...... 8 SPECIAL MATTERS AND INNOVATIVE FEATURES ...... 10 B . THE FACULTY ...... 13 COREFACULTY ...... 16 ADDITIONAL GRADUATE FACULTY: ...... 17 ASSOCIATED GRADUATE FACULTY ...... 19 RESEARCH FUNDING ...... 20 PROPOSED TEACHING LOADS ...... 21 EXPERIENCE IN GRADUATE SUPERVISION ...... 23 C . PHYSICAL RESOURCES ...... 25 LIBRARY RESOURCES ...... 25 COMPUTER FACILITIES ...... 25 SPACE ...... 25 D . GRADUATE STUDENTS ...... 26 ENROLMENT PROJECTIONS FOR THE MFA ...... 26 TABLES ...... 28 FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS ...... 31 STUDENT PUBLICATIONS ...... 31 E . PROGRAM REGULATIONS AND COURSES ...... 32 REGULATIONS ...... 32 PROPOSED COURSES ...... 34 DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSES ...... 36 A. INTRODUCTION 1 The purpose of this proposal is to establish a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in Creative Writing in the Department of English at the University of Guelph. The MFA will be offered in the fields of Prose, Drama, and Poetry; it will be practice oriented and will culminate in a creative thesis. The program is unusual in several ways, perhaps most strikingly in the fact that a good deal of the teaching will be done by a rotating staff of professional writers who are not in the regular employ of the University, and who would not otherwise be accessible to our students. These writers will be appointed . as Associated Graduate Faculty. A distinguished Core Faculty is already in place: Dionne Brand, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Constance Rooke, and Judith Thompson. With one exception (Rooke), the individuals comprising the Core Faculty have been employed by the University to assist with mounting this program. They have an outstanding level of experience and expertise in all three of the fields in which the MFA will be offered. In combining a rotating staff with a core group, we are following the model of the University of Iowars Writersr Workshop, which is unquestionably the most prestigious, the most rigorous, and the most effective Creative Writing MFA program in the world.
1. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES (a) IMPACT ON THE DEPARTMENT AND THE UNIVERSITY The Department of English at the University of Guelph has been offering MA degrees since 1967. Our area of specialization for the MA is Canadian and Commonwealth literature. Because the department has a profound commitment to contemporary world writing in English and to ongoing investigations of literary theory, we anticipate that the MFA in Creative Writing will greatly enrich and be enriched by our MA program. The stimulation for both students and faculty that will follow from the presence on campus of a great many writers whose work is being studied in the MA program will significantly strengthen the present work of the department. Conversely, the specific critical and theoretical expertise of our regular faculty will be relevant to the interests of the MFA program. The existence of both programs will be attractive to prospective students in either, and the synergy between the two graduate programs will enhance the quality of both degrees. Our MFA program has been designed to tap rather than drain the department's present resources. Much of the effort will be concentrated in the Core Faculty that has been hired with this end in view. Associated Graduate Faculty will also contribute significantly to the most time-consuming aspects of the program, including the teaching of courses and supervision of theses. Additional Graduate Faculty will serve in auxiliary capacities, at their discretion. We do not anticipate that the total workload of the department will increase significantly, since the number of students admitted to the MA program will be adjusted slightly to compensate for contributions to the MFA program made by Additional Graduate Faculty. This program comes at an important time for the University of Guelph, which has long had an outstanding record in the sciences. In recent years the College of Arts has been greatly strengthened, in order to create a balance of excellence in the university as a whole. We have been able to attract faculty of international renown, and the level of intellectual and creative energy across the College has been greatly increased. Part of our vision in this phase of the development of the University has been focused on artistic endeavour, since we believe that creative and scholarly activity in the arts are as deeply interrelated as pure science and the work in applied science for which Guelph is particularly known. To this end, we have recently established an MFA in Fine Art and are now proposing an MFA in Creative Writing.
(b) NEED FOR THE PROGRAM Any account of our program's objectives must begin by demonstrating the need for such a program at Guelph and in the province as a whole. Over the past ten years--indeed, since the burgeoning of Canadian literature and publishing in the 197Ors-- there has been a significant and growing demand for creative writing courses at both introductory and advanced levels, for writers, workshops during the summer months, and for such intensive writing programs as those offered by the Banff School of Fine Arts. While such venues are obviously both necessary and desirable, and some are exemplary in themselves, it is clear that they flourish in such numbers partly because the existing BA and master's levels programs do not meet the accelerating demand for
I instruction in creative writing. We believe that the University of Guelph could play an important role in meeting this demand. Our ambition, however, is not simply to add another venue, but to develop the best master's level program in creative writing in Canada.
While there are more than 130 graduate writing programs in the United States, there are very few in Canada. Master's level programs in which creative writing is a primary focus of attention are to be found in this country only at the Universities of British Columbia, Concordia, Windsor, and New Brunswick. Of these four only UBC offers the MFA. We are aware of two other universities that advertise an MA in English with a creative thesis option: the Universities of Calgary and Alberta. (c) GEOGRAPHICAL APPROPRIATENESS The University of Guelph would add importantly to this number, serving the densely populated area in and around Toronto, including Kitchener, Hamilton and London, as well as Guelph itself. Although York University offers a BFA program in creative writing, the only university in Ontario to offer a master's level creative writing program (an MA) is The University of Windsor. There is no MFA program in Ontario. Guelph's proximity to Toronto means that all creative writing students will have easy access to that city's reading series, and that our MFA drama students will be able to attend its theatres. The University of Guelph will also have the advantage of being able to draw upon the significant number of distinguished writers living in or near Toronto. At the same time, Guelph will provide our students with the advantages that come from maintaining a certain physical and psychological distance from the metropolis.
(d) NATIONAL APPEAL As important as the fact that our university could meet a large and growing local demand is the fact that the MFA program we propose would be unique in this country. We therefore anticipate that our program will serve the nation as a whole. By offering an MFA in Creative Writing, rather than an MA in English with a Creative Writing specialization, we will make it possible for students with undergraduate degrees in fields other than English--the sciences, fine art and languages, for example-- to enter our program. (At present, only UBC permits this.) By designing a program that emphasizes the need for writers to read, we will ensure that our graduates are well-acquainted with the literary traditions within which they are working. (The MFA program at UBC does not have this reading component; MA programs include it through English courses, but these are not taught from I the perspective of the writer.) By offering a mentor system, we increase the likelihood that the student will be supervised by the writer who is best placed to help that particular student achieve optimum growth as a writer. (No other Canadian program uses the mentor system.) And, finally, by choosing for our program a global focus, we will help our graduates to take their place in a larger community of writers. (Again, this feature is unique to Guelphls program.) (e) PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
(1) To assist new writers to place their work within a global context. A particularly important aspect of our proposed program is its global focus. While we feel strongly that Canadian writers should be fully conversant with their indigenous literary tradition and with the possibilities of their particular historical situation, we are concerned also with encouraging students to consider broader questions of cultural practice. Such questions include the social and political responsibilities of writers living under oppressive regimes, the debate over appropriation of voice, the problematic concept of universality, the gaps which may obtain between reader and writer, and the role of state funding in the production and publication of literary texts. We will ensure that students read widely and that they have the opportunity to meet and work with writers from around the world. The global focus will be strongly reflected in both the plenary courses and the reading courses. An international focus is especially appropriate for Guelph, given existing University programs--including our own Canadian/Commonwealth MA--and the multicultural and cosmopolitan nature of the demographic area our program will most particularly serve.
(2) To assist new writers to place their work within a national context, and to contribute to the development of Canadian literature. Our graduates will be well-equipped to take their place in the more immediate context of Canadian society. Literature is one of the best means a society has for knowing itself: its past, its present energies, and its future possibilities. The kind of imaginative energy that literature generates has become especially important at a time when the idea of Canada is undergoing a process of radical redefinition and re-visioning. Writers do not produce anything so monolithic as a national identity in their work, but they do very significantly contribute to something that Mavis Gallant has called a "national sense of self." As recent polls and taskforces have shown, this is something that Canadians sorely need. j In the past thirty years, Canadian literature has come of age, with the production of texts that have become increasingly complex, sophisticated, and disruptive of habitual or ossified ways of seeing and being. If in 1960 the appearance in Canada of a fine book of poems seemed to Northrop Frye an event of historical significance, then by 1990 the yearly appearance of dozens--or hundreds--of fine Canadian literary works has become a commonplace. It is no accident that the past thirty years have also seen the establishment of a variety of respected venues for the teaching of creative writing, among them the universities. We have also seen in Canada the development of a phenomenon that Milan Kundera has described as graphomania--a dramatic increase in the number of persons who not only engage in the production of texts, but also expect to publish or produce them. While not every student will achieve the prominence or, more importantly, the skill of a Nino Ricci--whose creative writing thesis from Concordia won him both the Books in Canada First Novel Award and the 1990 Governor General's Award for Fiction-- many who pursue the study of creative writing at the graduate level will contribute significantly to the cultural life of this country.
(3) To assist new writers to become successful teachers of creative writing. While writers are an indispensable part of the burgeoning "arts industry," it remains the case that many are unable to make a living exclusively from writing. Thus, it is all the more important that they acquire the skills not only to produce publishable texts but also to teach creative writing to the considerable numbers of Canadians who are demanding opportunities to become acquainted with the challenging and life-enhancing process of writing. One of the objectives of the creative writing MFA at the University of Guelph is therefore to ensure by every means possible that our graduates are equipped to teach writing well.
January 1992--approval by Senate of the University of Guelph, to be followed immediately by the forwarding of this proposal to the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies. September 1993--program begins. 3. FIELDS ON WHICH THE PROGRAM WILL FOCUS 1 The program will involve three main fields: prose, drama, and poetry. Through workshops (in which students produce writing and engage in the process of critique), reading courses (in which they are exposed to the practice of distinguished professionals), and the production of a creative thesis (whereby a book-length creative work is developed until it reaches at least publishable quality), students will receive a thorough grounding in at least one of these three fields. Within the field of prose, we include fiction and creative non-fiction. Within the field of drama, we include writing for the stage, for film, and for radio and television. We recognize, however, that an exciting and salutary point has been reached in the development of our literary traditions, such that the blurring of generic boundaries is now a frequent occurrence. Guelph is particularly fortunate in that our Core Faculty will include writers who have expertise in several genres, who are adept at genre-crossing, and who therefore will be able to inspire and respond flexibly to genre-crossing in our students. The Director of the program (still to be appointed) will be similarly versatile. We are fortunate in that the University of Guelph has special strengths in children's literature. These strengths are evident in our faculty, in our library holdings, and in the publication (under the editorship of Professors Mary Rubio, Elizabeth Waterston, and Franqois Parb) of Canadian Children's Literature. Several distinguished authors of children's literature live in the immediate area--including Jean Little, who is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of English. It is therefore our expectation that students interested in writing for children will be particularly attracted to Guelphls MFA program. These students could enrol in any of the three workshops--prose, drama, or poetry--since children's writing is an important component of all three of these main fields. We will of course ensure that visitors to the program include children's writers, and that mentors with particular distinction in this area will be available to our students. Guelph's Core Faculty will offer conspicuous strength in the areas of fiction and poetry. Both Dionne Brand and Janice Kulyk Keefer have well-established reputations in fiction and poetry. But fiction does not exhaust the larger category of prose. Our faculty are also well-qualified to teach creative non-fiction: Janice Kulyk Keefer, for example, was nominated for a Governor General's Award in that category in 1987, and Dionn@ Brand has achieved distinction for her writing in the field of cultural criticism. Constance Rooke, in addition to being a short story writer and having extensive experience as a literary editor, writes literary essays of a kind that is classified as creative non-fiction. Students who wish to work in creative non-fiction will have access to mentors with established reputations in such fields as biography and travel-writing, and visitors to the program will include a number of creative non-fiction writers. Members of Guelphfs English Department--including, most notably, Professor Emeritus Elizabeth Waterston and Patrick Holland--have expertise in the academic study of travel writing. The University of Guelph is also well qualified to offer an MFA to students who wish to pursue a specialization in drama. The Department of Drama, which currently offers an MA, is particularly strong at this university. The recent cross- appointment of Judith Thompson to the Departments of English and Drama has been a vital move in confirming the close ties between these departments, and in opening the way to the MFA. Judith Thompson is without question one of Canada's most exciting and celebrated playwrights. Like Judith Thompson, Dionne Brand lends strength in the area of script-writing; she has written and produced two films and is at work on a third. Several members of faculty have experience in writing for radio and television, and other members of faculty--including Richard Knowles and Alan Filewod--have also written plays and seen them through production. The Director of the program may lend further strength to a specialization in drama. This area of MFA study will be enriched through association with Guelph's MA program in Drama, which concentrates on nineteenth and twentieth century plays and theatre with special reference to Canada. Additional Graduate Faculty with particular strengths in this academic field include Eugene Benson, Neil Carson, and Marshall Matson in The Department of English, and Leonard Conolly, Alan Filewod, Richard Knowles, and Ann Wilson in the Department of Drama. In addition, MFA students specializing in drama will have access to an impressive range of library and archival material located on our campus. These include the Dan H. Laurence Shaw collection, the Shaw Festival archives, and-- most significantly--the archives of nearly all important Ontario theatres. These materials can be used to show students how a dramatic script is developed in the light of actual theatrical values. Moreover, because the teaching of the craft of writing for the theatre must be grounded in practice, arrangements have been made to ensure that students can participate in the active season of theatre offered by the Department of Drama--either as participants (actors, designers, writers) or as observers. Such involvement will occur on a voluntary non-credit basis. MFA students in drama will in this way gain exposure to the methods and materials of theatrical production--including scene construction, stage lighting, sound equipment, costuming, and backstage operations. All of these features should make our MFA program 5 particularly attractive to Ontario students interested in writing 1 for the theatre--and, indeed, to aspiring dramatists across the country. Finally, it should be noted that if student interest and university resources make this feasible at a later date, additional workshops may be added to the curriculum. These more specialized workshops might include Script-Writing, Writing for Children, and Creative Non-Fiction. Students who elect any of these workshops would take the Prose, Drama, or Poetry workshop in another semester--since we are firmly convinced of the need to enlarge generic horizons. 4. SPECIAL MATTERS AND INNOVATIVE FEATURES (a) GENDER AND RACE One conspicuous and often criticized weakness of established Canadian programs in creative writing is their dearth of women faculty. Our recent appointments in the area of creative writing have been made in full cognizance of the need to redress this wrong. The Director of the program is likely to be a man, and gender balance will be a consideration in the appointment of Associated Graduate Faculty. But it is clearly noteworthy that with Dionne Brand, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Constance Rooke, and Judith Thompson we will have a preponderance of women in the Core Faculty of the MFA program. This circumstance is fortunate in view of the overwhelming number of women students who are attracted to creative writing programs. We are equally concerned with the need to reflect through our faculty the multicultural and multi-racial richness both of Canadian society and of contemporary Canadian writing. The appointment of Dionne Brand assists us greatly in this regard. Both Judith Thompson and Janice Kulyk Keefer have also demonstrated clearly in all their writing a powerful knowledge of and sensitivity to the multicultural nature of Canadian society. In putting together a Core Faculty of this kind for the MFA, we have acted in accord with principles that are firmly held within the Department of English as a whole. This is a department that is particularly strong in feminist scholarship and that is committed through its curriculum to the study of writing by marginalized groups. We are concerned with doing our part in both the MA program and the MFA program to make this campus hospitable to students. Accordingly, as we continue to make contact with the writers who will join us as visitors and as Associated Graduate Faculty for the program, we shall be guided in part by the need to ensure that students will have access to writers of both genders and
10 from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. We are pleased, ) for instance, by the opportunity we will have to attract such distinguished Native writers as Tomson Highway and Thomas King. (Archival material in the library--including, for example, the Native Earth archives--will support our attention to Native writers. ) (b) SPECIAL RESOURCES AND ATTRACTIONS Faculty at the University of Guelph are involved in the publication of numerous journals that will be of interest to our MFA students. Most important in this regard is the fact that Constance Rooke, Chair of the Department of English, has been since 1983 the Editor of The Malahat Review. In the period of her editorship, Malahat has quadrupled its readership and has garnered more prizes than any other Canadian literary magazine. The Malahat Review, however, is published by the University of Victoria--and when the Editor's present term expires (in June 1992) her association with that magazine will come to an end. We believe (and the evidence of other programs strongly suggests) that the opportunity to be involved in the work of a literary magazine is a strong drawing-card for students, and that such work is a particularly important learning experience. It is therefore our firm intention to have a Guelph-based literary magazine in place by the time the program begins. This magazine, while profiting from the expertise and reputation of the present editor of Malahat, will have the advantage of being housed here and of being tailored to reflect the nature and needs of our MFA program. Tim Inkster--publisher of The Porcupinels Quill Press in nearby Erin, Ontario--will be involved, perhaps as co-owner of the magazine and certainly as its printer. Inkster, who is widely honoured as a printer and book designer, currently has an association with the University of Guelph, in that the archives of his distinguished literary press are owned by our library. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the program Guelph is proposing and eager to make a contribution to it. In consequence of this new venture, our MFA students will experience the rewards of working on a magazine identified with their program, and they will be able to see each issue through from start to finish. Students may choose to be involved in soliciting, reading, and editing manuscripts, as well as in the design and production of particular issues. They will have a chance to learn a good deal about book and magazine publishing through trips to Porcupine's Quill. Since many writers combine a writing career with a career in publishing, this experience should prove invaluable to certain of our graduates. MFA students primarily interested in writing for the theatre will also benefit from the editorial expertise of faculty associated with academic journals such as Canadian Theatre Review (ed. Alan Filewod) and Essays in Theatre (ed. Harry Lane and Ann Wilson). The fact that World Literature Written in English (ed. Diana Brydon) and Canadian Children's Literature (ed. Rubio, Waterston, and Pare) are both associated with the University of Guelph should also be of interest to prospective MFA students. Writersr festivals are another important asset to creative writing programs. Students in the MFA at Guelph will have the opportunity to attend the various reading series and literary events offered by Toronto's Harbourfront, as well as to participate in our own Eden Mills Writersr Festival--an event which will become more closely tied to the university. Worth noting here as well is the fact that the University of Guelph has been chosen to mount the 1991 and 1992 celebrations of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize; Professor Diana Brydonrs ongoing involvement with this prize will assist us in bringing international writers to our campus. The existence of a flourishing MFA program at Guelph might also contribute to the further expansion of Guelph's celebrated Spring Festival, beyond its current emphasis on music, in the direction of literary and dramatic performance. In any event, that festival will be a substantial draw for students who are interested in the inter- relationships of the arts. Within the university itself, the MFA program will mount its own weekly reading series. This public reading series--which will include two readings in each of the fall and winter semesters by students in the program--will feature readings by faculty, by visitors to the program, and by writers funded through the Canada Council's public readings program. This series will, of course, serve the university as a whole--and forge links between the program and the larger university community. This series, affording to our students the opportunity to hear other writers read, as well as to read their own work and receive advice on how to do so effectively, will be an essential training component of the program. Such readings have become an important source of income for writers in this country, as well as an important way of reaching an audience. We hope also to participate in the Writer-in-Residence program funded in part by Canada Council. Writers brought to campus in this way are available to share their expertise with all members of the university community, but would obviously be of particular interest to students enrolled in the MFA program. Writers-in-Residence would also participate in the public reading series. we are interested, too, in the possibility of establishing under the auspices of the MFA program an annual writersr retreat in the vicinity of Guelph. An ideal opportunity has arisen as a result of the University of Guelph's ownership of Cruickston Park near Cambridge. However, the uses to which this singularly appropriate residence may be put have not as yet been determined by the university.
B.. THE FACULTY The composition of the faculty associated with the MFA program will be markedly different from that of the MA program in English, in that a significant proportion of the teaching will be done by highly qualified persons who are not regular members of faculty at the University of Guelph. This decision has been taken primarily because we want to offer our students the greatest possible range and quality of influences. Many creative writing programs are excessively dependent on the deployment of English department faculty who have creative writing as a secondary or collateral area of expertise, and on the appointment (for a semester or an academic year) of writers who are willing to work for the usual sessional pay. The University of Guelph is particularly fortunate in that it already has in place three full-time faculty members--Dianne Brand, Janice Kulyk Keefer, and Judith Thompson--whose primary reputations in creative writing will immediately place us in the first rank. We also have Constance Rooke, a short story writer whose experience as the editor of Canada's most prominent literary magazine supplies a strength that is missing from other creative writing programs. If these people were to devote all their teaching time to the creative writing program, it would be possible to design a program around them. These individuals, however, have other teaching interests and other teaching commitments. In any case it has been our ambition from the start to assemble a more richly varied and extensive faculty, and in particular to attract on a part-time basis the most distinguished of Canada's professional writers, whose first commitment will necessarily be to their own work. The Director and the Associated Graduate Faculty will be writers of this kind. Our challenge therefore has been to design a program that is innovative enough to interest these well-established writers, and that allows them to serve new writers without compromising their own creative work. This program leaves such writers free to assume a variety of roles and to become involved to the degree that other commitments will permit. The selection of Associated Graduate Faculty will be determined not only by the excellence of the writer's work, but also by his or her reputation as a teacher of creative writing. It is important to understand the relationship beween performance and pedagogy in the teaching of creative writing. Those who can, write; only those who write can teach creative writing. At the same time, not all good writers can teach writing well. Most writers alternate periods of sustained creative activity with periods of concentrated teaching; they do not typically have full time academic appointments. Because they are not moving up within an institution, their teaching abilities are guaged not by the professorial rank they have achieved but by their reputation as teachers within the broader writing community. The range of venues in which creative writing is taught includes concentrated summer workshops, credit courses, and writer-in-residencies at libraries and universities. Effectiveness in this very specialized kind of teaching is richly prized and recognized within the writing community by word of mouth. In order to be assured of the highest calibre of teaching in our program, we will take the full range of teaching experience into account and will employ only writers who have established superior reputations as teachers.
The roles articulated below indicate how Core Faculty, Associated Graduate Faculty, and Additional Graduate Faculty will be deployed within the program:
(1) DIRECTOR We intend to appoint a half-time Director of the program. This appointment will raise to five (with Dionne Brand, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Constance Rooke, and Judith Thompson) the number of regular Guelph faculty who will be centrally involved in the program on an on-going basis. The Director will have a critical role as animator of the program. He must be a person whose reputation and extensive contacts in the literary community, both in Canada and around the world, will attract distinguished visitors to the program. He will ensure that writers employed as Associated Graduate Faculty are not only highly accomplished as writers, but also highly skilled as teachers of creative writing. He will have an exceptional ability to see where the creative energies of one individual can most profitably be joined to the energies of someone else--thus ensuring the success of the mentor system, in which Core Faculty and Associated Graduate Faculty are assigned as mentors to particular students. And he will be a person whose own learning and rigorous standards set the tone for our common endeavour. The Director will chair an MFA PROGRAM COMMITTEE, comprised of the Core Faculty. With the assistance of the Committee, he will be responsible for the administration and ongoing development of the MFA program, the admission of students, and the recruitment of Associated Graduate Faculty and visitors to the program. He will be responsible for the budget, within parameters established by the Chair of the Department of English. In addition, the Director will serve as instructor and mentor ' (see below). ( 2 ) INSTRUCTOR Courses within the program will be taught both by regular Core Faculty and by writers employed for a single semester as Associated Graduate Faculty. Instructors employed for a single semester might also for an additional stipend be employed as mentors (see below).
(3) VISITOR Visiting writers from Canada and abroad will be brought in on a regular basis, for periods ranging from several days to several weeks. Visitors will give readings, will participate in courses, and will consult with individual students. They will play a critical role in the plenary courses described below. Visitors might also for an additional stipend be employed as mentors (see below). (4) MENTOR Each student will be paired with a mentor, who will take a special interest in the student's work, and serve as advisor or co-advisor of the student's thesis. Mentors will be either regular faculty (without stipend) or Associated Graduate Faculty (with a stipend, which is a single fee paid to take the student through to completion of the thesis). All members of the Core Faculty will serve as mentors; from time to time, other regular faculty (designated as Additional Graduate Faculty) may also serve as mentors. At least half of the mentors, however, will be Associated Graduate Faculty. A mentor who is a member of the Associated Graduate Faculty will be termed co-advisor, and a regular member of faculty will serve as the other co-advisor. This mentor system is an essential feature of the program. If we are to achieve an optimum match for all students, it will clearly be necessary to have access to a wide range of writers. For this reason, we will seek Associated Graduate Faculty as mentors. We have good reason to believe that an interest in the up and coming generation will induce prominent writers to take on the role of mentor to one or more students, receiving a per student stipend. And we know that where appropriate care is taken in achieving the right match between mentor and student, mentoring works extremely well. Although a minimum number of contact hours will need to be agreed upon, it is not necessary for the mentor and the student always to be in the same place: visits can be arranged in either direction, manuscripts can be sent back and forth, and computer link-ups can be effected. Moreover, if the mentor is not a regular member of faculty, a co-advisor will always be available on campus. The critically important factor (over-riding any possible inconvenience) is the rightness of the match. Many students, of course, will find that the right mentor is one of the regular members of our faculty. Others will find that the right mentor lives within easy range, as this area is particularly rich in writing talent. Normally, the student will have been paired with a mentor at least by the end of the first semester in the program, and be paired by the end of the second semester.
(5) TUTOR Each student will be assigned a tutor at the point of entry into the program. Tutors will be regular members of faculty, including Core Faculty and Additional Graduate Faculty. The tutor will serve as an academic advisor for the student. The responsibilities of the tutor will cease when a mentor has been appointed, unless the mentor is not a regular member of faculty. If the mentor is a member of the Associated Graduate Faculty, the co-advisor assigned at that point (who is always a regular member of faculty) will assume the responsibilities of the tutor. MFA PROGRAM COMMITTEE--It will be the responsibility of this committee, chaired by the Director, to assess applications for admission to the program, to advise the Director on such matters as the appointment of mentors, to approve all proposals for independent reading courses, to establish advisory and examining committees, and to coordinate and review the curriculum. CORE FACULTY--T~OS~regular members of faculty who will serve as members of the MFA Program Committee, as course instructors, and and independent advisors (mentors). Core faculty will also serve as tutors, on advisory and examining committees, and as supervisors of independent reading courses. ADDITIONAL GRADUATE FACULTY--Those regular members of faculty who are empowered to serve as tutors and co-advisors, to serve on advisory and examining committees, and to supervise independent reading courses. Occasionally, members of the Additional Graduate Faculty may be appointed as mentors by the Director. ASSOCIATED GRADUATE FACULTY--Those writers who are not regular members of faculty who are appointed to serve as mentors and/or course instructors. 1. LIST OF FACULTY CORE FACULTY: Director. To be appointed to the Department of English when the MFA program is approved. Creative fields: at least two of prose, poetry, and drama. Dionne Brand (English). Creative fields: poetry, prose, drama (film). Researchlteaching fields: Canadian and Commonwealth literature; Black studies. Janice Kulyk Keefer (English). Creative fields: poetry, prose. Researchlteaching fields: contemporary Canadian literature; twentieth century British literature; Central European literature. Constance Rooke (English). Creative field: prose. Researchlteaching fields: contemporary Canadian and American literature; women writers; old age and literature. Judith Thompson (Drama and English). Creative field: drama. Researchlteaching fields: Canadian drama, acting.
ADDITIONAL GRADUATE FACULTY: Nancy Bailey (English). American literature; women writers. Eugene Benson (English). Creative fields: prose, drama. ~esearchlteachingfields: Anglo-Irish literature; Canadian drama and theatre. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1993, but likely to continue in some role and eager to participate in MFA.) Christine Bold (English). U.S. studies; popular culture. Peter Brigg (English). Modern British and American novel; science fiction. Susan Brown (English). Creative field: radio drama. Researchlteaching fields: nineteenth century British literature; contemporary literary theory. Diana Brydon (English). Commonwealth and Canadian literature; postcolonial and feminist literary theory. Neil Carson (English). Renaissance, American, and Canadian drama and theatre. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1996.) Leonard Conolly (Drama). British and Canadian drama and theatre. Douglas Daymond (English). Canadian literature. Alan Filewod (Drama). Creative field: drama. Researchjteaching fields: Canadian theatre and drama; theatre criticism. Kenneth Graham (English). Restoration and eighteenth century literature. James Harrison (English). Creative field: poetry. Researchjteaching fields: Victorian literature; Commonwealth literature; children's literature. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1992, but likely to continue in some role and eager to participate in MFA.) Ramon Hathorn (French). Quebecois literature; drama. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1996.) Ajay Heble (English). Canadian and Commonwealth literature; contemporary literary theory. Patrick Holland (English). Commonwealth literature; contemporary literary theory; travel writing. Stuart Hunter (English). Renaissance literature; computer technology and literary research. Michael Keefer (English). Renaissance studies; contemporary literary theory. Catherine Kerrigan (English). Scottish studies; Victorian and modern British literature. Douglas Killam (English). Commonwealth literature. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1995.) Richard Knowles (Drama). Creative field: drama. Research/teaching field: contemporary Canadian drama. Harry Lane (Drama). Modern European and Scandinavian drama. Gerald Manning (English). Modern American and British literature; music and literature. Linda Marshall (English). Medieval literature; nineteenth century literature; women writers. Marshall Matson (English). Renaissance and modern drama; Scandinavian literature and translation. (NOTE: scheduled to retire in 1996.) Paul Mulholland (Drama). Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. Mary Rubio (English). Children's literature; Canadian literature. J.R. (Tim) Struthers (English). Canadian literature; short fiction, literary publishing. David Waltner Toews (Population Medicine). Creative fields: poetry and prose. Elizabeth Waterston (English). Canadian literature; children's literature; travel literature. (NOTE: Professor Emeritus) Ann Wilson (Drama). Contemporary critical theory; feminist studies; contemporary Canadian, American, and British drama. ASSOCIATED GRADUATE FACULTY NOTE: The following is a brief list of writers who might serve as Associated Graduate Faculty. Many others have expressed interest as well, but no commitments have been made. Sandra Birdsell--prose Roo Borson--poetry Marilyn Bowering--poetry and prose Lorna Crozier--poetry Elisabeth Harvor--poetry and prose ~imothyFindley--prose Tomson Highway--drama Paulette Jiles--poetry and prose Ann Ireland--prose Diane Keating--poetry Thomas King--prose John Krizanc--drama Jean Little--children's literature Alberto Manguel--prose Michael Ondaatje--poetry and prose and drama Sharon Pollock--drama Nino Ricci--prose Erika Ritter--drama Leon Rooke--prose and drama Sarah Sheard--prose Linda Spalding--prose Jane Urquhart--poetry and prose George Walker--drama Phyllis Webb--poetry
2. RESEARCH FUNDING NOTE: A summary is given by field and source of total career fundinq for Core Faculty and selected Additional Graduate Faculty (Benson, Filewod, Harrison, and Knowles) with Creative Writing credentials.
(i) Canadian Literature: Theatre SSHRCC SSHRCC SSHRCC Ministry of Communications Canada Council New Brunswick Department of Tourism SSHRCC Stratford Festival SSHRCC SSHRCC TOTAL (ii) Canadian Literature: Fiction 22,074 SSHRCC 27,700 SSHRCC $49,774 TOTAL (iii) Commonwealth Literature
25,000 University- of Guelph 217.000 SSHRCC $242,000 TOTAL British Literature 60,000 SSHRCC 4,500 SSHRCC 11,000 SSHRCC 50,000 SSHRCC 54,000 SSHRCC 2,500 Killam 182,000 TOTAL
(V) International Literature 10,072 SSHRCC 35,581 SSHRCC 25.900 SSHRCC $71,553 TOTAL (vi) Creative Writing: Prose, Poetry, Theatre, Film University of Guelph External Affairs Ontario Arts Council Ontario Arts Council Toronto Arts Council Ontario Ministry of Culture Canada Council Canada Council Canada Council Canada Council Canada Council Canada Council Canada Council TOTAL $825,215 GRAND TOTAL
3. PROPOSED TEACHING LOADS The standard teaching load in the Department of English is five semester-long courses per year--including undergraduate and graduate courses. In addition, the department has a "points systemN that recognizes the supervision of directed reading courses and the supervision of graduate students. Various point values are assigned to these tasks, and each year certain faculty members (those who have accumulated the largest number of points) will be relieved of a course, bringing their load for that year down to four courses. This system will make it possible for regular faculty who take on advisory roles or directed reading courses for the MFA to get l1creditlwfor this labour and to have it reflected in their course allocations over the long term. A sample staffing plan for MFA courses is given below, including Core Faculty and Associated Graduate Faculty:
Prose Workshop & Reading Seminar: MICHAEL ONDAATJE Drama Workshop & Reading Seminar: JUDITH THOMPSON Poetry Workshop & Reading Seminar: DIONNE BRAND Plenary--Writers on Writing: JANICE KULYK KEEFER winter 1994:
Prose Workshop & Reading Seminar: LEON ROOKE Drama Workshop & Reading Seminar: GEORGE WALKER Poetry Workshop & Reading Seminar: JANICE KULYK KEEFER Plenary--Writers in the World: DIONNE BRAND Sample teaching loads for Core Faculty only are given below: NOTE: Among regular faculty, only those designated as core are empowered to teach courses--other than independent reading courses--for the MFA. The abbreviation I1CW1lsignifies a course for the MFA in creative writing. For llCWflcourses, the particular course is given; for other courses, only an indication of whether the course is undergraduate or graduate, and of the department in which the course will be offered, is given here. DIONNE BRAND:
Fall 1993 Winter 1994
1. Poetry Workshop (CW) 1. Plenary (CW) 2. Poetry Reading Seminar (CW) 2. Undergraduate (English) 3. Undergraduate (English) JANICE KULYK KEEFER:
Fall 1993 Winter 1994
1. Undergraduate (English) 1. Poetry Workshop (CW) 2. Graduate (English MA) 2. Poetry Reading Seminar (CW) 3. Plenary (CW)
CONSTANCE ROOKE:
Fall 1993 Winter 1994
1. Undergraduate (English) 2. Undergraduate (English) (Note: reduced teaching load as Chair of Department) JUDITH THOMPSON:
Fall 1993 Winter 1994
1. Drama Workshop (CW) 1. Undergraduate (Drama) 2. Drama Reading Seminar (CW) 2. Undergraduate (Drama) 3. Undergraduate (Drama) DIRECTOR:
Fall 1993 1. Prose Workshop (CW) 2. Prose Reading Seminar (CW) 4. EXPERIENCE IN GRADUATE SUPERVISION I NOTE: Information is provided for Core Faculty and selected Additional Graduate Faculty, since regular faculty in both categories may serve on advisory committees for MFA students.
JANICE KULYK KEEFER: Graduate courses (University of Guelph): tfMulticulturalVoices in Contemporary Canadian Writingf1 "The Poetics of Prose in Contemporary Canadian Writing" Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for one MA thesis. Four advisory committees.
CONSTANCE ROOKE: Graduate course (University of Victoria): ttContemporaryCanadian Fictionw Graduate courses (University of Guelph): IfCanadianWomen Writers" "Old Age in Contemporary Fictionf1 tfSpecialStudies: Creative Writing--Fictiontf Graduate supervision (University of Victoria): Advisor for fourteen MA theses. Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for one MA thesis. Six advisory committees. External supervision: Two MA theses. EUGENE BENSON: Graduate courses (University of Guelph) tnStudiesin Canadian Literatureu "Yeats and Anglo-Irish Literature" "Synge and Anglo-Irish Drama1@ IIModern Canadian Drama"
Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for six MA theses. Four advisory committtees. External supervision: Two PhD dissertations.
JAMES HARRISON: Graduate courses (University of Guelph): commonwealth Literature--Salman Rushdie" Eight MA directed reading courses and one research project. Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for six MA theses. Seven advisory committees.
ALAN FILEWOD: Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for six MA theses. One advisory committee.
RICHARD KNOWLES : Graduate course (University of Guelph): "Shakespeare in Performanceft Graduate supervision (University of Guelph): Advisor for three MA theses. Three Advisory Committees. C. PHYSICAL RESOURCES
1. LIBRARY RESOURCES
[See letter from Dr. Black to Dr. Ormrod, Dec. 4, 1991.1
2. COMPUTER FACILITIES It is assumed that many of our students will have their own computers, printers, and software--or typewriters. However, we obviously cannot count on all students owning such equipment. Fortunately, the University provides a range of computer facilities (in the library, in the College of Arts computer lab in the MacKinnon Building, and in Computing Services) to which MFA students would have easy and regular access. In addition, the Department of English now maintains three desktop Tandy 1000 computers with Tandy printers for the use of its graduate students. Within a year, we expect also to have in place a large computer lab in the MacKinnon Building, for the exclusive use of graduate students in the College of Arts. Graduate students have open access to the computing facility located on the main floor of the library. This consists at present of a mixture of 54 Zenith and IBM PS2 microcomputers plus 5 MacIntosh SE computers. The College of Arts Computer Laboratory presently consists of 8 IBM S2 computers and 3 MacIntosh SE computers. The laboratory in Computing Services has I 18 IBM 386 'clone' machines. The computers in all three locations function as stand-alone units, but all are linked to the University's mainframe computer for access to campus-wide services such as laser printing, computer conferencing, and electronic mail (both on and off campus). Dot matrix printing is available free in the College of Arts Laboratory and for a small charge in the Computing Services Laboratory Telecommunications Network. Various software packages are available for use at all three locations, and service personnel are available to assist users.
3. SPACE The Department of English has gained six offices as a result of the move of the Department of Geography out of the MacKinnon Building in Fall 1991. The departure of Geography has freed up several other large spaces for the use of graduate students in the College of Arts. The departure from the MacKinnon Building of the Department of Psychology (still unscheduled) will ultimately provide additional space for the use of our graduate students. Our intention is to ensure that this space is concentrated in a manner that will promote interaction between graduate students both within and across the various departments of the College of Arts. In addition, the Department has recently established an attractive Departmental Lounge for the use of faculty and ' graduate students. This lounge is intended to promote casual interaction and to provide a base on the fourth floor of the MacKinnon Building (where the Department of English administrative and faculty offices are located) for graduate students who have been assigned space elsewhere. The lounge is located directly across from the Department Office; it has comfortable furnishings, a refrigerator and facilities for tea and coffee, and houses the graduate students' mailboxes. With the addition of the MFA, the Department and College will undertake to provide a Creative Writing Office suitable for use by the Director and a part-time Secretary, as well as several other offices for the use of Associated Graduate Faculty and Visitors. The space needs of the MFA program will naturally fluctuate, and will be considered alongside the somewhat more stable (but still variable) needs of the rest of the Department of English. The departure of Geography and planned move of Psychology suggest that we will be able to accommodate these needs without difficulty. We also undertake to provide teaching space that is conducive to establishing a comfortable workshop environment.
D. GRADUATE STUDENTS 1. ENROLMENT PROJECTIONS FOR THE MFA The Department plans an initial enrolment of approximately 21 full-time students for the first semester, and hopes for a roughly equal distribution of these students between the three main areas of prose, drama and poetry. We recognize that this is an ambitious starting point, but we believe that the need for such a program, combined with an intensive recruitment effort, will result in a sufficient number of highly qualified applicants--even from inception. The initial enrolment is projected at this level because the workshops proceed by mutual critique, and because the program as a whole depends upon a sense of community among aspiring writers. A certain critical mass is required for the successful operation of the program. Because this program will be a free-standing entity within the Department, involving Associated Graduate Faculty and a markedly divergent set of interests and expertise, it cannot reasonably begin in the usual way of new graduate programs. We would expect the population to grow to 24 in the second year, 27 in the third year, and 30 in the fourth year. Whether the program will grow significantly beyond these numbers will depend partly on faculty resources, but in any case we will not allow the program to grow at the expense of admission standards. 1 Given currently projected faculty resources, including those of Associated Graduate Faculty, we might anticipate taking in as many as 30 new students each fall. Students must commence the program in the fall semester on a full-time basis; thereafter, students may choose to proceed on a part-time basis. While the pattern of part-time enrolment after the obligatory full-time first semester is at this stage difficult to predict, it will clearly have some impact on the number of new students taken in each fall. Our admission levels will be affected by the need to maintain courses at an appropriate size. We do not anticipate any difficulty at all in attracting-- and continuing to attract--the requisite number of qualified students. Graduates of the program will be well-prepared for careers in writing and in teaching creative writing; their degrees, and the experience gained in the program, will also prove valuable in a wide range of fields including publishing, journalism, and arts administration. The minimum time required to complete all requirements for graduation is three semesters. The course work can be completed in two full-time semesters, but the length of time that it will take students to produce the thesis will obviously vary. In some cases, students will be far advanced in the work that becomes the thesis by the time they enter the third semester; in other cases, they will be working on an entirely new project. Moreover, creative work of a high standard takes some writers very much longer to produce than it does others. The possiblity of completing the program within three semesters is an important feature of the program, which takes into account the varied circumstances and credentials of our projected student body. For some of these students, it would make no sense to require a longer course of study. 2. ENROLMENTS AND GRADUATIONS FOR THE PRESENT MA
TABLE I
Graduate Student Enrolment by gender and by status over each of the three semesters for each of the last seven years: (Note that the year begins with the Spring -- May -- semester.) Full-time Full-time Part-Time Part-Time Full-time Part-time Total Enrolment Enrolment Enrolment Enrolment Enrolment Enrolment Enrolment Female Male Female Male Total Total SFW SFW SFWSFWSFWSFW SFW TABLE I1
Comparison with Undergraduate Enrolment for the Same Period: Majors in English (Figures uerenot available prior to Spring 1986)
Full-time Full-time Part-Time Part-Time Fulil-tile Part-time Total Enrolrent Enrolment Enrolment Enrjolment Enrolaent Enrolment Enrolment F-le Wale Fmle Wale Total Total SFW SFWSFWSFHSFWSFWSFW
3. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS The University has made a commitment to provide support for MFA students at a level comparable to that which is now in place for MA students in the Department of English. MFA students would be eligible for graduate teaching assistantships (GTA) and graduate service assistantships (GSA). These positions involve the rendering of a service for not more than 10 hours per week, or a total of 140 hours per semester. In 1991-92, the rate of pay for a full GTA or GSA is $3,330 per semester. Students may also be awarded a partial GTA or GSA. Appropriately qualified students will serve as markers or discussion leaders in undergraduate English courses; some appropriately qualified students might perform teaching duties in other departments. In making GTA assignments, we will take into account the background and expertise of this diverse group of students. MFA students who are awarded GSAs will be able to work on a wide range of publications, gaining editorial expertise, and may also be involved in the organization of artistic events (such as the Eden Mills Writersf Festival). MFA students would also be eligible for the university's graduate scholarships, valued at $1500 per semester, and available only to students with an A- or higher undergraduate average. The University of Guelph Graduate Calendar contains a complete listing of scholarships and fellowships available to graduate students. In addition, we hope to establish several scholarships specifically for our creative writing MFA students; tentative approaches to persons who might endow such scholarships have already been made, and more will follow. And finally, MFA students might be employed under the terms of a faculty memberfs research grant (such as a SSHRCC grant) as graduate research assistants (GRAs). Typically, students are eligible to receive support for three semesters. We anticipate, however, that some of our students will not require any support.
4. STUDENT PUBLICATIONS NOTE: We include here only creative publications by students currently (or very recently) enrolled in the MA program. MacGregor, Justin. Fiction #*TheCat," Trinity Review (University of Toronto) 1987.
"The Cat, Part 11, Quintessence (Toronto) 1991. "The Lost verse^'^ forthcoming in Carousel (University of Guelph).
Poetry "A Poem," "An Interlude, I8Back to the Poem,l8 forthcoming in Quintessence, Summer Double Issue 1991. Menzies, Ian. Fiction "Apocrypha, Queen's Quarterly 97:1 (Spring 1990) , 67-87. Poetry "At the Yarmouth Lightho~se,~~"I'm Sorry, But I Make No Apology For It," "Yet an Angeldust," Fiddlehead, no. 161: (Autumn 1989), 92-94. "Joe Snake," "Through the Fan," "To C.Z.," Antigonish Review, no. 77-78 (Spring/Summer 1989), 174-176. Plakidas, George. Fiction "Listen," -w (Spring, 1980), University of Utah. "The Messherschmitt Syndrome,18Heavv Metal Masazine (June 1980).
Poetry "Muser , "Washington St. Bridge, l1 Clarendon Masazine SUNY, Binghampton, N.Y. (1978-79). llTauqhannocFalls," "Make Your Tattoos a Road for Me, "-~oberson~oetrv Annual, Binghampton, N.Y. (1980).
E. PROGRAM REGULATIONS AND COURSES
1. REGULATIONS (a) ADMISSION To be admissible to the MFA, students will need an Honours (or equivalent) Bachelor's degree. However, there will be no requirement as to the discipline in which this degree is earned. Heterogeneity--a difference of background and vision--will thus be a strength of the student body, reflecting the fact that writers such as Oliver Sacks and the late Primo Levi have approached the domain of the literary text from the disciplines of medicine and chemistry. (In this connection, it is worth noting the inclusion in the Additional Graduate Faculty of Professor David Waltner Toews, from the Department of Population Medicine, who is a widely published poet and eager to participate in our MFA program.) Students will be selected primarily on the basis of a substantial portfolio. These portfolios will be assessed by the Creative Writing MFA Program Committee, which makes final decisions on admission to the program. Admission portfolios may contain both published and unpublished work as well as work-in- progress. Students will be required to submit three letters of reference and their undergraduate transcripts, as well as a letter of application in which they describe their aspirations as writers. Students will also be invited (but not required) to come to Guelph for an interview. (b) COURSE REQUIREMENTS Students will be required to complete the following courses: two semester-long workshops, a reading seminar and an independent reading course, and the two plenary courses. They will also be required to complete a creative thesis.
(c) EVALUATION PROCEDURES
Students will be assigned % marks for all courses and will be required to maintain an average of at least 70% in order to remain in the program. No examinations will be required, apart from the oral examination that follows the submission of the completed thesis. Regular attendance is required. Approximately 75% of the grade assigned in the workshops will be based on the quality of a substantial body of creative work submitted for evaluation; the student's progress, particularly as evidenced through the critical process of revision, will be taken into account in this evaluation. A further component of the workshop grade will be dependent on the extent and quality of the student's contribution to the process of critique which is an essential feature of successful creative writing workshops. Performance in the two reading courses and the two plenary courses will be assessed on the basis of written work and oral participation. (d) THESIS EVALUATION PROCEDURES Each student will have a thesis advisor (or co-advisors) and an advisory committee made up of the advisor and two additional faculty members. (At least two members of the committee will be regular members of faculty.) When it has been determined by the advisory committee and the student that the thesis is ready for examination, the thesis will be evaluated by an examining committee made up of three faculty members, including the advisor and one person who was not a member of the advisory committee. An oral examination, in which the student will have an opportunity to discuss the thesis and to display a sophisticated critical awareness of his or her own creative practice, will be ' the obligatory final phase of the thesis requirement. This examination will be conducted by the examining committee, whose first and most crucial task is to assess the merits of the thesis itself. A grade is not assigned to the thesis, but it is possible for some students to achieve "distinction" on the thesis. (e) ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS The MFA will not have a language requirement. Although the program will be concerned with writing in a global context, we are concerned with writing in English or in English translation.
2. PROPOSED COURSES (a) LIST OF COURSE OFFERINGS
NOTE : Students must be enrolled full-time for the first semester.
Semester One Credits
xxx Prose Workshop 6 AND xxx Prose Reading Seminar 3
xxx Drama Workshop AND xxx Drama Reading Seminar
xxx Poetry Workshop AND xxx Poetry Reading Seminar xxx Plenary Course: Writers on Writing [required of all students] Semester Total: 12 credits NOTE: Students may be enrolled part-time following the first semester. What follows is a list of courses available in the winter term, which would be Semester Two for students continuing on a full-time basis. All students would take one workshop and one independent reading course (not necessarily in the same genre as the workshop) as well as the plenary course which is required of all students. Full-time students would meet these requirements in a single winter semester. Part-time students could take the plenary course on ttWriterson Writingttonly in the winter semester (since it is not offered at any other time), but could take the second workshop in either a fall or a winter semester and could take the independent reading course in a fall, winter, or spring semester. Semester Two Each student will take one workshop and one independent reading course: xxx Prose Workshop 6 xxx Independent Reading--Prose 3 xxx Drama Workshop 6 xxx Independent Reading--Drama 3 xxx Poetry Workshop 6 xxx Independent Reading--Poetry 3 xxx Plenary Course: Writers in the World 3 [required of all students]
Semester Total: 12 credits
Semester Three--and anv Subseauent Semesters xxx Thesis DEGREE TOTAL: 24 credits SUMMARY OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE:
Two workshops (6 credits each) = 12 credits One reading seminar = 3 credits One independent reading course = 3 credits ~othplenary courses (3 credits each) = 6 credits
TOTAL = 24 credits NOTE: In exceptional circumstances, a highly qualified I undergraduate student or English MA student may be permitted to enrol in a workshop or plenary course, and to have such a course count in his or her BA or MA program. Highly qualified English MA students might also very occasionally be permitted to do a creative thesis in place of a regular academic thesis. We do not anticipate movement in the other direction, except in the case of MFA students who choose to audit an MA course in either English or Drama where the material overlaps with work chosen for the Independent Reading Course.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSES (i) Worksho~s Workshops in the areas of prose, drama, and poetry will be conducted in the fall and winter semesters, with students enrolling in one workshop each semester. Students will use the skills and insights developed during the workshops in their production of a creative thesis in the third semester in the program; work produced in the workshops may also emerge as part of the thesis. We aim for an optimal degree of flexibility, whereby students may change from one workshop to another as they enter the second semester of the program OR take a second workshop in the same genre. Students may also audit an additional workshop with the permission of the instructor. Workshop leaders will change in the second semester, so that students who continue in the same genre will have the opportunity to work in a sustained fashion under two different instructors who possess a variety of approaches, methods, and styles. The workshops will meet once a week for a three-hour session. (ii) Readinq Seminars Students will meet for a two-hour reading seminar once a week throughout the first semester to examine a number of key texts in the genre of the workshop in which they are enrolled. The instructor of the reading seminar will be the instructor of the workshop in the same genre. This arrangement will facilitate a choice of texts that is calculated to address the particular writing needs of the students. It will also permit the instructor to assess the student's ability within the workshop to employ--and creatively transgress--models encountered in the reading seminar. The purpose of this seminar is to involve students in the active and writer-oriented reading and analysis of representative 1 texts drawn from Canada and the world. It is worth noting here that the most consistent and urgent advice given to new writers by established professionals is simply to &--widely, voraciously, and well. Through the reading seminar, students will grow in an understanding of technical and other aspects of the writer's craft; they will be able to discuss technique knowledgeably and to incorporate the insights gathered from their reading into the writing they produce for the workshop. The seminar will powerfully signal to students the importance of an assured possession both of our global literary heritage and of contemporary literary practice. Performance will be evaluated on the basis of the student's participation in the seminar (which may include, for example, an oral presentation on affective, structural, stylistic, or technical strategies encountered in a particular text) and on the basis of written work. We believe that it is important for students (as writers and as potential teachers of writing) not only to develop but also to articulate an understanding of textual practice. The written requirement for this course will demand from students a mastery of skills requisite for advanced expository prose. (iii) Independent Readinq Course Prior to embarking on this course, the student will be required to draw up a tentative list of literary texts to be examined in the second semester of the program. A single faculty member will bear responsibility for supervision of this course. However, the list itself must be approved--for manageability and appropriateness--not only by that faculty member, but also by the MFA Program Committee (who will consult with the instructor of the reading seminar taken in the first 'semester of the program). Throughout this course, the student will keep an analytical journal recording his or her active engagement with the texts in question. The faculty member in charge of the course will read the journal and engage in discussion of texts with the student at regular intervals. These discussions and the content of the journal will form the basis of the evaluation of this course. Quality of expression, rigour of analysis, and the applicability of critical discoveries to the student's own creative practice will be among the criteria employed. Several students may combine with a single instructor to design a common reading course. It will also be possible for students to design a common course for of the semester, and to pursue individual study for the balance of the semester. It will not be necessary for students to pursue an independent reading course in the same genre as the second workshop. Nor will it be necessary to take the second workshop and the independent reading course in the same semester, since after the first semester provision is made for part-time students. (iv) Plenarv Course: Writers on Writinq The plenary courses will be taken by all students working in all genres. Since full-time enrolment is required in the first semester, all students will take the plenary course on "Writers on Writing" in the first semester of study. Students will attend a one hour lecture given each week by the instructor responsible for the course, by a member of the Core Faculty, or by a visiting writer. On a rotating basis, students will be identified as respondents to the lecture, and in a second hour-long meeting of the course will present their responses to ideas generated by the lecturer. This presentation--and regular participation in discussions--would account for 50% of the student's final mark; the remaining 50% would be derived from written work. Writers are frequently requested to give public addresses or to publish opinion pieces or personal essays on various aspects of the writer's craft and vocation. The essays that students will be required to prepare for this course will help them to form their own aesthetic and to develop strategies for articulating that aesthetic convincingly. This course will allow students to acquaint themselves with and vigorously debate the "writing theoriesutof such artists as Henry James, Anton Chekhov, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Vladimir Nabokov, Milan Kundera, Octavio Paz, Augusto Boal, John Gardner, Cynthia Ozick, John Berger, Robert Kroetsch, Nicole Brossard, and others. An examination of how writers create or respond to the Weltanschauunq and the prominent literary theories of their time will also be an important feature of this course. Finally, a two-week component of this course will be devoted to a consideration of strategies for teaching creative writing. This component of the course will arise naturally out of the consideration of "advice" given by writers on writing. The insights offered by writers encountered in this course will prove invaluable to students who become instructors of creative writing. (v) Plenary Course: Writers in the World This plenary course will involve students in significant and contentious debates on the nature and role of writing which form the context in which the solitary writer creates his or her own imaginative worlds. Issues to be considered may include the social and cultural responsibility of the writer, writing as an instrument for social and political change, the problematic notion of Isthe reader", and the kind of radical literary practice urged by certain feminist writers. As importantly, differences in the concept, role, and status of the artist in different societies will be examined through the examples and extra-fictive writings of figures such as Vaclav Havel, Gabriel Garqia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Tatyana Tolstaya, Chinua Achebe, Nadine Gordimer, Doris Lessing, Duo Duo, and Salman Rushdie. Wherever possible, the lectures will be conducted by writers from countries outside of Canada. As with the previous plenary course, the format will involve a single hour's lecture followed by a second hour of discussion. Again, students will be involved as respondents to the lecture. Evaluation will be based on class participation and written work. Finally, a two-week component of this course will be devoted to another set of issues involving writers in the world. These issues will include such practical matters as the politics of publishing, the relationship between writer, editor, and agent, and such aspects of the publishing process as copyright, Public Lending Right, and reprography. This plenary course (required of all students) may be taken in the second or any subsequent semester of study.
(vi) Thesis The thesis is the most important single component of the MFA. "Thesis" is the term traditionally applied to the sustained creative project which comes at the end of the MFA degree. An oral examination, in which the student's critical awareness of his or her creative practice will be assessed, is the final phase of the thesis requirement and of the program. The standard to be applied to the thesis is that it should be at least of publishable quality in the estimation of the examiners. The thesis might be a book-length manuscript of poems, a novel, a collection of short stories, a full-length play, or a biography--to give only a few examples. It should be a finished work, rather than a work-in-progress. The thesis may be entirely new work; it may also be based on work done in the workshops, or indeed on work done before the student enters the program. It will frequently be the case that a student enters the program with an unpublished, book-length manuscript in hand. While such work may emerge after extensive revisions as the thesis, a manuscript that is essentially finished before the student enters the program cannot satisfy the thesis requirement. Although some students will be able to complete the thesis in a single semester, others will certainly require more time. Severely limited opportunity to receive intensive and extended editing is a real problem in Canada, especially for new writers. The availability of this service is one of the great advantages for an emerging writer of enrolling in a creative writing MFA program. In effect, the creative thesis allows a new writer to present to a publishing house (whose own editorial resources are likely to be strained to the limit) a manuscript that does not need further editorial work. At the same time, to have his or her work closely edited through successive drafts is the most important of all educational experiences for an MFA student. This experience helps the writer to hone self-editing skills, and also illuminates the delicate and arduous process of instruction in which many of these students will be engaged as teachers of creative writing. APPENDIX ' Letters of support 1. We have received strong letters of support for our proposed program from the following writers: Canada Mark Abley Doris Anderson Margaret Atwood Joan Barfoot Nancy Bauer Pierre Berton Sandra Birdsell Marilyn Bowering Di Brandt David Carpenter Don Coles (Professor, Humanities and Creative Writing, York University) Susan Crean Lorna crozier Christopher Dewdney Trevor Ferguson (Chair, The Writers1 Union of Canada) Timothy Findley Mark Frutkin Graeme Gibson Douglas Glover Katherine Govier Barbara Gowdy Elisabeth Harvor Wayne Johnston M.T. Kelly Patrick Lane Richard Lemm (Chair, Department of English, University of Prince Edward Island) Dorothy Livesay Alberto Manguel Dave Margoshes Daphne Marlatt Tom Marshall (Professor, Department of English, Queen's university) Ally McKay George McWhirter (Head, Department of Creative Writing, University of British Columbia) Mary di Michele (Associate Professor of Creative Writing, Concordia University) Robert Munsch Michael Ondaatje (Professor, Creative Writing, Glendon College, York University) P.K. Page H. R. Percy Sharon Pollock Helen Porter Janice Rapoport Erika Ritter Veronica Ross Jane Rule Libby Scheier Andreas Schroeder Carolyn Smart Glen Sorestad (Publisher, Thistledown Press) Linda Spalding Paul Thompson (Director General, National Theatre School of Canada) Aritha van Herk (Professor, Department of English, University of Calgary) Fred Wah (Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Calgary) Helen weinzweig Budge Wilson (Vice-President, Writersr Federation of Nova Scotia) Adele Wiseman (Director, The Writing Programme, The Banff Centre for the Fine Arts) Andrew Wreggitt Rachel Wyatt (Associate Director, The Writing Programme, Banff l Betty Jane wylie Tim Wynne-Jones Patricia Young United States John Irving Thomas King (Department of ~ativeStudies, University of Minnesota) Enqland Kate Pullinger Michael Hulse
2. In addition, we have received strong letters of support from the following publishers, literary agents and editors: Jack McClelland, Jack McClelland and Associates Inc. Douglas Gibson, McClelland & Stewart Inc. Douglas Pepper, Random House of Canada Ltd. Michael Byron Davis, Irwin Publishing Paul Stuewe, Books in Canada Greg Gatenby, Artistic Director, Harbourfront Reading Series Janet Turnbull Irving, Curtis Brown Canada, Ltd. Ellen Seligman, McClelland & Stewart, Inc. 3. Letters indicating interest in enrolling in the proposed MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph were I received from 13 persons (two men and eleven women) of whom all but three live within commuting distance of Guelph. (The remaining three wrote from British Columbia and Nova Scotia). A letter of support was also received from the Guelph Writers' Club. CHIEF LIBRARIAN
December 4, 1991.
Dr. D. P. Ormrod, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Dear Dr. Ormrod: This letter describes the University Library support for the proposed Master of Fine
Arts.. .. in- - Creative- - - Writing. as described in the auuraisal-A brief submitted to the Ontario Council on Graduate studies. The collection of materials developed by the University of Guelph Library supports to a reasonable extent the current teaching and research programmes in English. A recent review of the library collection has identified areas that require specific additions and on- going anention in order to bring the collection to a level that will support the teaching and research programme as outlined in the proposal for an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Members of the Library staff are now working with the members of faculty involved to address these issues. We estimate that the immediate funding required will be about $2000-$2500, with an additional $800-$1000 required each year to renew journal subscriptions and about $2500-$3000 each year to support purchasing works of the major creative authors and other prize winning publishing. In addition to the specialized service provided by its subject divisional organization, the Library also provides a variety of access tools, both print and automated, to make the collected information readily available to the students and faculty. The Library's Orientation and Bibliographic Instruction Programme is structured toward providing the student with special knowledge of information sources, access routes and productive search techniques. Graduate students who require general instruction in the use of indexing and abstracting services may attend the sign-up classes provided during the beginning weeks of each term. Graduate orientation offers training in research methodology and an in-depth introduction to research materials crucial to thesis preparation. It includes materials available at this University and describes both manual and automated methods by which access may be gained to information and resources held in libraries throughout the world. Access to information available only at other institutions has been made possible through the Library's involvement and leadership in cooperative ventures. As online catalogues become more and more common, direct interrogation of these library databases
GUELPH ONTARIO CANADA NlG 2W1 (519) 824-4120, Ext. 2181 Dr. D. P. Ormrod 2- December 4. 1991 i can be accomplished using remote terminals or micros and the various telecommunications networks. The Direct Borrowing Agreement is an arrangement for direct in-person borrowing by students, faculty and staff among the Ontario University libraries, while the Inter-university Transit Service permits return of these materials at the borrower's home library. The Inter-university Borrowing Project allows graduate students and faculty with proper identification to borrow directly from some of the University libraries in the Province of Quebec. Finally, Interlibrary Loan Services permit researchers at this University to borrow or to request photocopies of relevant materials from other libraries across the country or around the world. Financial support for library resources, although threatened by inflation and currency exchange fluctuation, has been such that the Library has been able to maintain to a reasonable degree its holdings in support of the programmes in English. Over the past five years, acquisition funding in direct support of the Department of English has averaged $36,375 per yew, while purchasing to support programmes in related areas such as Drama also serve the teaching and research needs in the English programmes. Allocation Spent
External grants and donations over the last six years amount to over $150,000 - for example, monies spent on building the Library's Shaw Collection, Scottish literature, Commonwealth literature, and including a donation of current Australian literature by the Australian High Commissioner in 1990. In addition, the proposals from the Department of English re the Special Library Fund in 1990 and 1991 have received support of more than $42,000 over the two year period. Detailed questions about and discussion of the Library services and collections will be welcome at the time of the appraiser visits.
Yours sincerely,
&. John B. Black Chief Librarian Department of Economics Memo
To: Isobel Heathcote, Dean of Graduate Studies
From: John Livernois, Chair, Economics
CC: Thanasis Stengos, Graduate Coordinator, Economics,
Date: Sept. 8,2003
Re: Review of MA Co-op in Economics
The Co-op MA was introduced in the 1999-2000 academic year. Since then, 14 students have enrolled in the program. Of these, 7 successhlly completed the MA Co-op program, 4 withdrew because of a lack of jobs but completed the MA program, 2 withdrew from the MA program for I academic reasons, and 1 transferred to a different program. For the 7 that completed the Co-op program, I believe it was a very positive experience - according to accounts from the students - that in many cases led to permanent job offers from their Co-op employers.
As our list of contacts with potential employers grows and our work with economics alumni continues, the success rate for acquiring jobs may well improve. In any case, we have found that the Co-op program is a useful recruiting tool and gives us the flexibility to meet the needs of a more diverse group of students than would otherwise be possible. We would like to request that the program be made permanent.