Notes of Gratitude: Don Bialostosky

After eight years at the helm of the Department of English, Professor Don Bialostosky is stepping down. As his final column for T5F suggests, Don accomplished much for and with the members of the department, and will no doubt accomplish more in his research, writing, and teaching—with, hopefully, fewer meetings breaking up that cherished work. A celebration of his tenure as chair took place in April at the home of Professors Jean and Steve Carr. Here are a few notes of gratitude from our faculty.

 

Marylou Gramm, Senior Lecturer

What I want to remember about Don's leadership is the impressive range of 'chairs' he has occupied, of roles he has played: I remember a serious conversation with Don about how to improve my OMETs and later that week opening his email to faculty displaying Gerald Stern's playful illustration, a cartoon with the thought bubble "Let's hear from the chair" emanating from a deeply empty seat; that missive from Don (about the Stern archive at Hillman) launched my fruitful inclusion of Stern's poetry in several courses. I remember links to articles about China that Don has sent to help further my research. And I will never forget his message—for me, it was nothing short of spiritual rescue—to us all after the 2016 presidential elections. It is a very special leader who can play manifold roles to so many people. Thank you, Don!

 

 

Shannon Reed, Visiting Lecturer

I'm so grateful for Don's leadership. I've had the privilege of working with him as a student, teaching assistant, adjunct, and visiting lecturer. He's always been welcoming and deeply supportive. Our department is better for his leadership, and I'm grateful for all he's taught me!

 

 

Ellen McGrath Smith, Senior Lecturer (and editor of The Fifth Floor)

It's kind of fun to be an editor on this small scale. But, like a debt collector, I often find myself chasing down copy near or past issue deadline—with little to no leverage, since virtually everything written for T5F is done gratis by already overstretched people, be they undergrad or graduate students, faculty ... or department chairs. Please enter this into the record: Don Bialostosky, for 16 consecutive issues, never missed a deadline for his chair's column. In fact, roughly 94.6 percent of the time, he was ahead of deadline. A lot of important work gets done out of department chair's office. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the majority of that work is more important and pressing than our e-magazine. But Don never once gave me that impression. I've not taken a class with him, but if he's this respectful of what I do in this small service capacity, I can only imagine how seriously he takes his students, particularly the PhD students whose dissertation committees he chairs. 

 
Nancy Glazener, Professor (and former Director of Graduate Studies)

Don made a lot of great things happen during his time as chair. He made a strong case to the deans for recruiting Yona Harvey and Terrance Hayes to our Writing faculty and strongly supported the founding of the Center for American American Poetry and Poetics; he oversaw the hiring of a number of other great colleagues throughout the ranks; and he was the first chair of the Humanities Council that was formed out of the momentum of the Year of Humanities and has become a crucial forum in which departments in the humanities work together. He pioneered the publications workshop for PhD students, something he undertook partly because of his desire to keep working with students in spite of his administrative workload. I know he will love getting back to the classroom, but he did a lot of good for the department during his time as chair. I especially valued his support for the graduate program while I was DG—he gave me good advice and always had my back.