Last Updated: 10/20/07 
Robert Upchurch Becomes New Chair of Graduate Studies in English
Robert Upchurch, known for his medieval studies courses and his abiding interest in medieval English hagiography, has become the English Department's new Chair of Graduate Studies, replacing Brenda Sims. Dr. Sims is expected to move on to the forthcoming Department of Linguistics and Technical Writing in the coming months.
Dr. Upchurch has expressed great support for GSEA as a graduate organization, and he has said he wishes to work extensively with GSEA in helping English graduate students at UNT. Dr. Upchurch announced plans to prepare information packets for graduate students covering the more "arcane" aspects of being a MA or PhD student at the university. Dr. Upchurch's offices are in the Graduate Office (AUD 116) and his old office in LANG 408G.
2007 Meet and Greet
GSEA hosted its second annual Meet and Greet for graduate students and faculty on September 18, 2007 in the departmental lounge in the Language Building. GSEA members brought the refreshments while graduate students and English faculty met and enjoyed themselves. Graduate students had the opportunity to meet their professors in a casual environment. GSEA co-presidents Danny Hoey and Karen Williams touted the Meet and Greet as a place for students to talk to professors they know and to meet professors they don't know, a helpful situation for thinking about who to invite to be on your committees. The event lasted from 5 pm to 8 pm, including faculty visits from David Holdeman, Robert Upchurch, Diana Benet, Kathryn Raign, David Kesterson, Marshall Needleman Armintor, and many more.
2007-2008 GSEA Officers
Danny Hoey and Karen Williams will serve as GSEA's co-presidents for the 2007-2008 academic year. Danny Hoey and Karen Williams take the reigns from last year's president, Jennifer Roe, who has moved on to live in New York City as she prepares to further her graduate career away from Texas. The other officers for GSEA will include the following individuals: Jessica Oxendine, vice-president; Pam Harper, secretary; CJ Record, treasurer; Fern Bugg, membership officer; Christian Worlow, web administrator.
Teaching Fellow Pay Raises
David Holdeman, English Department Chair, announced at the 2007 orientation meeting for teaching fellows that he had successfully lobbied with the university for English TFs to receive a significant pay raise starting with the Fall 2007 semester. Additionally, compensation for teaching fellows will vary depending upon the individual student's progress in the program (i.e., starting MA student, continuing MA student, and so forth). GSEA would like to thank Dr. Holdeman for his hard work and his ardent support of UNT's English graduate students.
Meeting Minutes
You can download the minutes of our last several meetings in Acrobat (pdf) format.