Departmental Mission Statement (1996)

(adopted May 1996)

A. Teaching, research, service in concurrence with university mission statement

Reflecting goals set forth in the university’s Expanded Statement of Institutional Mission, the primary objective of the English Department is to foster quality educational experiences for undergraduate and graduate students. In pursuit of this objective, all permanent faculty engage reflectively in the instruction of courses that fulfil basic-studies requirements in writing and literature, as well as those that apply to the department’s four options for the undergraduate major. Members of the graduate faculty periodically teach seminars relating to their areas of research, publication, and scholarly expertise.

Virtually all members of the permanent faculty remain actively engaged in scholarly and creative endeavors that lead to professional publication. The department recognizes that these endeavors not only stimulate the types of inquiry that accompany good teaching but also transmit the ideals of higher education to graduating students.

The English Department also recognizes its obligation to serve the UNCW campus community, the City of Wilmington, and the surrounding geographical region. Efforts to address this obligation include sponsorship of public lectures and readings, workshops and other forms of educational outreach, courses that highlight cultural heritage and diversity, administration of a university writing center, and a host of initiatives undertaken each year by individual faculty.

B. Primary Purpose

The primary mission of the Department of English is to provide undergraduate and graduate students with excellent instruction in English studies, including the fields of literature, composition, professional and creative writing, linguistics and English language studies, folklore, and teacher education. The department is also committed to furthering scholarship in these fields and to providing service to the region and to the larger scholarly community.