552 English-Philosophy Building2717 Holly Court NW

Rebecca S. Blair

552 English-Philosophy Building2717 Holly Court NW

University of IowaSwisher, IA 52338

Iowa City, IA 52242319-266-7161 (home)

319-384-4246319-930-0858 (cell)

Education

Ph.D., with distinction, Indiana University, Rhetoric/Composition, American

Studies (1988)

M.A., with distinction, University of Illinois at Springfield, Medieval Studies (1982)

B.A., summa cum laude, University of Indianapolis, English (1980)

Faculty Appointments

University of Iowa, Department of Rhetoric:

Lecturer, 2012-present

Rhetoric, First Year Seminar, Speaking and Reading, Perspectives on Rhetoric and Ethics in Culture, Teaching in a Writing Center

Wartburg College, Departments of English and History:

Visiting Professor of Liberal Studies, 2006-2011

19th and 20th century American Literature and Culture, American Literature Surveys, First Year Seminar, Women Writers and Cultural Experience, Views of Human Nature Seminar, African-American Literary Expression, Writing and Thinking in the Medical World, Spiritual Autobiography (graduate course at Wartburg Seminary), Introduction to Literary Study, Intermediate Composition, Iowa History, American Women’s History, African-American History, Historiography

Senior Lecturer, Department of English, 2003-2006

First-Year Composition, Introduction to Literature

University of Indianapolis, Department of English:

Associate Faculty, Department of English, 2000-2003

American Literary Surveys, Women Writers, Intermediate and Advanced Composition

Westminster College (Missouri), Department of English:

Associate Professor (tenured) and Chair, Department of English, 1997-2000

Assistant Professor, Department of English, 1989-1996

19th and 20th Century American Literature and Culture, American Romanticism, American Realism, Early American Literary Culture, Women Writers and Literary Culture, Early and Modern World Literatures, African-American Literary Expression, The Harlem Renaissance, Native-American Literary Cultures, Introduction to Literary Study, Intermediate and Advanced Composition

Webster University, Department of English:

Visiting Assistant Professor of Literature, 1988-1989

Early and Modern World Literatures (graduate seminar), Classical

Myth and Literature (graduate seminar), The Bible as Literature, Intermediate Composition

Indiana University, Department of English and Center for English Language Training:

Graduate Teaching Fellow, 1982-1988

Introduction to Literature, Introduction to Fiction, Introduction to Poetry, Early American Literature, Freshman Composition, Writing for ESL Study

Teaching Awards

Buschman Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, Westminster College, 1997

Panhellenic Award for Teaching Excellence, Westminster College, 1996

Outstanding Faculty Member, Westminster College, 1992

Academic Leadership Experience

Director of Integrative Studies, Wartburg College, 2006-2011

Director of the First Year Seminar, Wartburg College, 2005-2011

Chair, Department of English, Westminster College, 1997-2000

Director of Writing Assessment, Westminster College, 1990-2000

Assistant Director, Writing Center, Indiana University, 1984-1985

Professional Service/Consultant Experience

National Advisory Board, COMPASS Reading and Writing, ACT, 2012-present

Peer Reviewer and Consultant, Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ), The

Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and

Universities, 2005-present

Peer Reviewer and Systems Appraiser, Academic Quality Improvement Program,

(AQIP), The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of

Colleges and Universities, 2005-present

Consultant Evaluator, SAT Writing Essay, Pearson Education, 2005-2008

Consultant to SEAM Project, (collaborative project among the Indiana State Department

of Public Instruction, master high school teachers across Indiana, and higher

education consultants to address transition from high school to college study, funded

by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., 2001-2003

Consultant to CD-ROM Assessment Project, Pepperdine University, 1995

Grants and Fellowships

Essential Education Grant, curricular development of First Year Seminar, Wartburg

College, 2008-2010

Fellow, Oxford Round Table, Lincoln College, Oxford, 2006

Institutional Grant, Lilly Endowment, Inc., Crossings Project at the University of

Indianapolis, 2002-2003

Buschman Teaching and Research Grant, Westminster College (MO), 1998

Participant, American Council on Education National Identification Program (ACE-

NIP), 1992

Kellogg Foundation Grant, Wakonse Conference on Teaching, 1990

Selected Publications

“A Mission-Driven First-Year Seminar.” Co-authored with Lake Lambert. A Collection

of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2006. Volume 1—The

Future-Focused Organization: Organizational Distinctiveness and Effectiveness.

Chicago: The Higher Learning Commission, 19-22.

Lost and Found Narratives of Education for Service [oral history project]. Co-authored

with Michael Cartwright and James Fuller. University of Indianapolis Press, 2006.

“The Westminster Writing Assessment Program: A Model for Small Colleges.”

Proceedings of the 45th Annual Conference on College Composition and

Communication, Nashville, TN (also published as ERIC listing ED374449), 1994.

“Pattern Analysis.” Reaching Adult Learners with Whole Language Strategies. Eds.

Tirza Kroeker and Margaret Henrichs. New York: Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc.,

1993.

“Ring Lardner,” Encyclopedia of American Humorists. Ed. Steven H. Gale. New York:

Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988.

Selected Conference Presentations

“Scaffolding Pedagogies: Fostering Effective Graduate Teaching for Critical Skills

Development.” Oxford Education Research Symposium, Oxford University Club,

Oxford University, March 17-19, 2016.

“Pedagogies in Universal Educational Practice.” Oxford Education Research

Symposium, Rhodes House and Oxford Union, Oxford University, March 17-19, 2014.

Invited Respondent, Oxford Education Research Symposium, Rhodes House and

Oxford Union, Oxford University, March 17-19, 2014.

Invited Respondent, Oxford Education Research Symposium, St. Edmund Hall, Oxford

University, March 17-20, 2013.

“Orange EXCELeration: How First-Year Orientation Can Use WAC to Bridge College

Community Boundaries” (with Sonja Lynch). Ninth Biennial 2008 International

Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, The University of Texas at Austin, May

29-31, 2008.

“Critical Inquiry and Cross-Disciplinary Literacies as Instruments for Knowledge

Construction.” General Education and Assessment: Creating Shared Responsibility

for Learning Across the Curriculum, American Association of Colleges and

Universities, 2005.

“Portfolios and All That Jazz: Writing Assessment as Institutional Palimpsest.” National

Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, 2004.

“Transformative Assessment: A Language-Relation Paradigm of Principled Practice.”

Conference on College Composition and Communication, New York City, NY, 2003.

“Priming the Pump: Exposing Hidden Assumptions and Identifying Explicit Perceptions

in Beginning Composition.” Windows and Mirrors: Connecting Reading, Writing

and Reflection, 21st Annual Conference of the Indiana Teachers of Writing, 2001.

“Writing Across the Disciplines for Learning Excellence.” Windows and Mirrors:

Connecting Reading, Writing and Reflection, 21st Annual Conference of the Indiana

Teachers of Writing, 2001.

“Portfolio Assessment Programs and Faculty Values: An Administrative Perspective.”

Conference on College Composition and Communication, Milwaukee, WI, 1995.

“Truths Shared Are Truths Multiplied: Using Portfolio Assessment to Transcend

Institutional Boundaries.” Conference on College Composition and Communication,

Milwaukee, WI, 1995.

“Portfolio Literacies: Responding to a Changing Environment.” Conference on College

Composition and Communication, Washington, D.C., 1994.

“Academic Writing: Past Attitudes, Current Approaches, and New Directions for

Research.” Missouri Philological Association Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, 1992.

“The Not-So-Basic Writer: Research to Respond to a Changing Student Population.”

Missouri Philological Association Annual Conference, Branson, MO, 1990.

“William Wordsworth and the Age of Romanticism.” Keynote Address. Wordsworth

and the Age of Romanticism Symposium, Churchill Memorial at Westminster

College, 1990.

Institutional Service

University of Iowa:

Editor, Rhetoric Department Self-Study

Chair, Rhetoric Department Self-Study 2015-16

Writing Center Faculty Mentor/Tutor 2013-present

Graduate Student Advisor 2013-present

Chair, Lecturer Search Committee (Department of Rhetoric) 2013

Student Success Pilot (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) 2013

Assessment Committee (Department of Rhetoric) 2013-present

Accreditation Planning Committee (Office of the Provost) 2012-present

Rhetoric Review Committee (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) 2011-13

Wartburg College:

Faith Task Force, Commission on Mission Strategic Planning Initiative

Editor, Institutional Accreditation Self-Study for the Higher Learning Commission of

the North Central Association

Dean’s Council

Council of Chair and Directors

Self-Study Steering Committee

General Education Committee

Institutional Search Committees

Westminster College:

Council of Chairs and Directors

Executive Committee of the Faculty

College Budget Committee

Chair, Professional Standards Committee

Personnel Committee

Chair, Assessment Committee

Editor, Institutional Accreditation Self-Study for the Higher Learning Commission of

the North Central Association

Chair, Institutional Curriculum Task Force

First-Year Seminar Task Force

Enrollment Services Task Force

Faculty Parliamentarian

Institutional Search Committees

Professional Memberships

American Association of Colleges and Universities

Modern Language Association

Writing Program Administrators

American Studies Association

Association for Integrative Studies

National Council of Teachers of English

College Composition and Communication

Other Distinctions

Marquis Who’s Who in the World, 2000-present

Marquis Who’s Who in America, 2002-present

Marquis Who’s Who Among American Women, 1998-present

Summary of Teaching Assignments—Rebecca Blair, Ph.D., Rhetoric Dept.
Semester/Year / Advisees / Courses Taught
Undergraduate / Graduate / Course Number and Title / Number of Students Enrolled
Spring 2016 / None / None / RHET
1030:22 Rhetoric (Honors) / 17
RHET
1030:110
Rhetoric / 17
Fall 2015 / None / None / RHET
1030:144
Rhetoric
(Honors) / 20
RHET 1060:0008
Speaking and Reading / 17
Spring 2015 / None / 8 / RHET
10:006:40
Speaking and Reading / 17
RHET 10:006:67
Speaking and Reading / 14
Writing Center / 4-hr. equivalent
Fall 2014 / None / 8 / RHET 10:003:144
Rhetoric
(Honors) / 19
RHET
5350:0A03
(010:350:A03)
Colloquium: Teaching Rhetoric / 8
Spring 2014 / None / 6 / RHET 10:003:23
Rhetoric / 18
RHET 10:006:40
Speaking and Reading / 18
RHET 10:006:67
Speaking and Reading / 19
Fall 2013 / None / 6 / RHET 10:029:001
First Year Seminar / 13
RHET
10:003:438
Rhetoric
(STEM Honors) / 20
RHET
10:003:434
(STEM Honors) / 19
Writing Center / 4-hr. equivalent
Spring 2013 / None / 5 / RHET 10:003:38
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 16
RHET 10:003:938
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 4
Student Success Pilot
RHET 10:003:74
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 16
RHET 10:003:974
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 4
Student Success Pilot
Fall 2012 / None / 5 / RHET 10:003:431
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 20
RHET 10:003:437
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 20
RHET 10:350:A01
Colloquium: Teaching Rhetoric / 16
RHET 10:029:006
First-Year Seminar / 16
Spring 2012 / None / None / RHET 10:003:76
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 20
RHET 10:003:82
Rhetoric
(STEM) / 20
Administrative--Assessment