New York, April 28, 2021 -- Bedford/St. Martin’s, a Macmillan Learning imprint, announced the members of its 2021 Bedford New Scholars Advisory Board today. The Advisory Board was established in 2008 as a way for Bedford/St. Martin’s to hear from promising graduate students about the teaching challenges they face and the research that excites them. This year, the scholars will focus primarily on three critical topics: student engagement, online learning, and creating more inclusive classrooms.
The board of 10 graduate students will meet with the company’s editorial team to network, share ideas, and provide feedback on Bedford/St. Martin’s course materials. In previous years, Scholars would meet in-person at the company’s offices, at conferences and in focus groups. This year, a fully virtual conference was planned. The Scholars offer insights into how course materials are being used and the trends that will influence how composition courses are taught.
“Each year the scholars provide invaluable feedback to us about what’s going on in college campuses and gain insight into the future of composition course materials and how we can best support our students. From remote learning to protests for racial justice, this was a year unlike any other, so we’re intentionally focusing on topics that are critical to success for students, including how to get students more engaged in their learning, how to best support their online learning, and how to better embed DEI in the classroom. We can’t wait to hear the insightful feedback our Scholars have for us,” said Leasa Burton, Vice President of Humanities, Macmillan Learning.
Throughout the duration of the program, the Scholars gain insight into the publishing process and are granted the opportunity to review the first editions of new learning materials and projects (both in print and in Macmillan Learning’s new learning platform, Achieve). In the process, they also foster lasting professional connections with other graduate students and teachers who share the same passion for writing studies. Many past scholars have gone on to take leadership roles in writing programs in colleges and universities across the country.
Bedford/St. Martin’s has long been connected to the Composition community with its widely used A Writer's Reference, The Bedford Reader, The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, and Everything’s an Argument, as well as with its newest digital learning platform, Achieve, which was released last fall.
This year’s Bedford New Scholars:
Gina Atkins is pursuing her M.A. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at North Carolina State University. She teaches English 101: Academic Writing and Research and serves on the First-Year Writing Program Council as the MA Representative. Gina’s research interests relate to developing antiracist pedagogy, antiracist praxis, accessibility in the writing classroom, and linguistic justice.
Eric D. Brown is pursuing his Ph.D. in Arizona State University’s Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies Ph.D. program. He has taught First-Year Composition, Persuasive Writing and Public Issues, Writing for the Professions, and Business Writing. Eric currently serves as the Assistant Director of Writing Programs, where he aids the director in growing the scope of Writing Programs and creating professional development for faculty.
Emily Gresbrink is pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Scientific and Technical Communication at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She teaches University Writing, which is housed in the First-Year Writing program. Emily’s research interests include technical communication, the rhetoric of health and medicine, pandemics, rhetorical analysis, archives, bioethics, and mentoring.
Brendan Hawkins is pursuing his Ph.D. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition. His research, teaching, and faculty development interests and experiences span rhetorical genre studies, histories of rhetoric, online writing instruction and general education composition classes.
Hyoung Min Lee is pursuing her Ph.D. in English at Texas A&M University, where she teaches Writing About Literature as a graduate teaching assistant. She has also taught Rhetoric and Composition and worked as a grader for Technical and Business Writing. Hyoung’s research interests include theories of race and biopolitics and 20th-and 21st-century American literature, especially African American literature.
Courtney A. Mauck is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric and Composition at Ohio University, where she serves as Assistant Director of Composition and primarily teaches first-year writing courses. She also teaches junior composition courses themed around feminist game studies and has co-taught two graduate courses, “Teaching College English” and “Learning Transfer.” Courtney’s research interests include digital rhetorics, multimodal composition, social media, game studies, learning transfer and first-year writing pedagogy.
Michael A. Reyes is pursuing his MA in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition at Cal State LA. He teaches in the First-Year Writing Program and leads creative writing workshops in LA public schools and organizations. Michael’s research interests are critical affect theory, decolonial rhetorics and pedagogy, contemporary poetry and poetics, creative writing pedagogy, and antiracist and formative assessments.
Jacob Richter is the Assistant Director of First-Year Composition and a Ph.D. candidate in the Rhetorics, Communication and Information Design program at Clemson University. He teaches First-Year Composition, technical communication and business communication courses, and is the Assistant Communications Editor for Xchanges. Jacob’s research examines rhetorical theory, composition pedagogy and writing in digitally networked environments.
Rhiannon Scharnhorst is pursuing her hybrid Ph.D. in Writing Studies and Victorian Literature at the University of Cincinnati. She teaches a variety of courses in writing, from first-year composition to advanced topics classes, including Writing with Style and Food in Literature. Rhiannon’s research draws on feminist rhetorics to make sense of objects in writing studies, including typewriters, cookbooks and other tools.
Leah Washburn is pursuing her Ph.D. in English Literature at The University of California, Riverside. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2018 with an MFA in Creative Writing, where she taught Intro to Creative Writing. Leah’s research interests include digital media, ludology, narratology, contemporary speculative fiction, and postmodern fiction.
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