Bege Bowers Homepage

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bkbowers@ysu.edu

Bege K. Bowers
Associate Provost
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio 44555

Education	Administration	Teaching Experience	Writing/Editing	Consulting
Strategic Planning	Memberships	Publications	Honors	Provost's Office

Education

MACT (1973) and PhD (August 1984), University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Major: English (Dissertation on abuses of rhetoric in controversial nineteenth-century British cases; rhetoric books written for lawyers; and the presentation of barristers in nineteenth-century British literature). Minor: French. Elected to membership in the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Attended summer 1985 program in Teaching Technical and Professional Communication, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

B.A. (1971) cum laude, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Major: English. Minors: French and math. Elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

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Professional Experience (Administrative/Service)


2002–2012:	Emeritus: 2012-Present; Associate Provost, Academic Programs and Planning, 2005–June 30, 2012; Assistant Provost, Academic Programs and Planning, 2002–2005, Youngstown State University. Guided institutional accreditation; institution-wide academic program development, review, accreditation, and articulation; strategic planning; and annual division planning and reporting. In 2006-2008, chaired the Steering Committee and coordinated the institutional self-study for continuing accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. Served as institutional liaison to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association and to the Ohio Board of Regents, its Performance/Statistical Profiles Committee, and its Articulation and Transfer committees. Provided oversight for academic and nonacademic assessment, general education (effective 2008), degree audit, Office of Institutional Research (pre-2007 and 2010-2012), periodic and annual reporting to the Higher Learning Commission, special grant initiatives, and YSU's Tech Prep program. Served as signature authority for the Provost's area and acted on behalf of the Provost when needed. Chaired or served on divisional and institutional administrative committees and on Academic Senate committees as needed. Co-chaired the regional Tech Prep Governing Board and served on the Eastern Ohio AHEC Executive Board. Maintained the Provost's area web site and YSU's strategic planning web site. Formerly provided oversight for the Center for Teaching and Learning and for P-16 collaborations.
Feb. – July 2005:	Interim Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs, Youngstown State University. Led and provided oversight for the Academic Division of the university, the largest division in the university. Provided oversight for the six undergraduate colleges, the School of Graduate Studies and Research, the Office of the Provost, and the Academic Affairs budget. Served on the President's Cabinet, the Administrative Advisory Council, and the state's Inter-University Council.
2001–2002:	Associate (to the) Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Youngstown State University. Worked with faculty, department chairs, program directors, the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Dean, central administration, and college advisors and staff to serve students and administer the largest college at Youngstown State University.
1996–2000, 1985–92:	Director, Professional Writing and Editing (undergraduate program and graduate certificate program), Department of English, Youngstown State University. Co-founded the program, which grew to approximately 100 majors, administered a grant supporting the new major, established a student internship program, and set up a desktop-publishing lab for professional writing and journalism students. As director, I received the Society for Technical Communication’s Jay R. Gould Award. The program itself has won multiple university assessment awards.
1984–2012:	Selected State Committees, Ohio Board of Regents and Ohio Department of Education: State Performance Report/Statistical Profiles Consultation Committee, OBOR State Performance Report/Statistical Profiles Technical Subcommittee, OBOR Articulation and Transfer Policy Review Committee, OBOR Academic Content Standards Committee, OBOR/ODE Joint Council English Language Arts Content Standards Subcommittee, OBOR/ODE Joint Council Selected University-Level Committee Appointments, Youngstown State University: More Recent : Executive Committee, Steering Committee, Communication Committee (Co-Chair), and Web Manager, Youngstown State Univerity Strategic Planning Committee, 2010-2011 Higher Learning Commission/North Central Association Accreditation Liaison Coordinator and Committees (Self-Study Co-coordinator, Steering Committee Chair, and Web Manager, 2005-2008; Previous Self-Study Editor 1996-98) YSU's Higher Learning Commission Assessment Academy Team (2008-2012) Deans' Council Executive and Administrative Staff Council (formerly Administrative Advisory Council) Assessment Council and E-Portfolio Committee Academic Programs Committee Academic Planning Committee Academic Senate Administrative Representative Equal Opportunity Committee Provost's Area Web Manager Engagement Committee Blackboard Implementation Committee Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 143 Executive Board, Former Web Manager, and Membership Committee Gould Society (Honor Society) Faculty/Staff Committee Freshman Convocation Committee Hispanic Heritage Committee University Web Site Advisory Committee Previous: Academic Senate (Secretary and Executive Committee, 1995-2003; Former Web Manager) University Strategic Planning Committee (Chair, Web Manager), 2001-2002 Task Force on University Mission and Goals (Chair) Program Review Committee(s) (Chair) University Curriculum Committee (Chair) SCT Banner Advisory Committee, Data Standards and Reporting Committee, and Web Portal Team Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Chapter 143 President Elect and Secretary Outstanding Freshman Scholars Tribute Committee (Chair) Annual Plan and Budget Committee Presidential Search Advisory Committee Provost Search Advisory Committee BS/MD Joint Admissions Committee Task Force on Sexism in Communication (Chair) A&S Outcomes Assessment Committee (Chair) Various Search Committees, Student Retention Committee, Dykema Scholarship Selection Committee, and Graduate Grievance Committee, among others Selected English Department Committee Appointments, Youngstown State University: More Recent : English Festival (Writing Games and Former Web Manager) Press Day Advisory Committee (Registration and Former Web Manager) Previous: Hiring (Various Positions) Chair’s Advisory Council Professional Writing and Editing (Chair) Advising Outcomes Assessment Undergraduate Curriculum Graduate Curriculum Mission and Goals English Web Site Committee, Workload, Computers and the Teaching of Composition, Textbook Review, Placement, Honors, and Academic Goals, among others
1985–94:	Composition Coordinator, Department of English, Youngstown State University. With two other coordinators, I advised and supervised composition instructors; hired, mentored, and evaluated new part-time faculty; conducted faculty-development workshops; and handled student complaints. For seven years, I also taught the year-long graduate practicum, supervising and mentoring new graduate assistants during their first year of tutoring and teaching.
1992–93:	Assistant to the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Youngstown State University. Advised students for a six-year undergraduate/medical school program, served on committees for the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), chaired the Arts and Sciences Outcomes Assessment Committee, wrote and edited the quarterly Arts and Sciences newsletter/magazine, worked with the Dean’s Advisory Council, and performed tasks assigned by the Acting Dean.
Fall 1989:	Acting Chair, Department of English, Youngstown State University. Served and administered a department with 33 full-time faculty, 60 part-time faculty, and a $2,000,000 budget.
1975–76:	Assistant Loan Officer, Center for Financial Aid and Placement, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
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Professional Experience (Teaching)


1984–2012:	Professor, 1992–2012; Associate Professor, 1988–92; Assistant Professor, 1984–88, Department of English, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. Graduate Courses Taught: professional and technical editing, professional writing/publication internships, publications issues and management, document design and production, technical writing, nineteenth-century British studies, the graduate practicum in the teaching of writing. Undergraduate Courses Taught: technical communication, professional and technical editing, professional writing/publication internships, the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British novel, nineteenth-century British studies, world literature, freshman composition, intermediate composition, honors composition, and computer composition.
1982–84, 1972–75:	Teaching Assistant, Department of English, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Courses Taught: freshman composition, technical writing, introduction to literature, logic and rhetoric, developmental composition, reading, and reading for foreign students.
1980–82:	Teacher of English and French, St. John’s High School, Darlington, South Carolina. Courses Taught: French I and II, junior and senior composition, survey of British literature.
1979–80:	Part-time Instructor of Business English, Florence-Darlington Technical College, Florence, South Carolina.
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Professional Experience (Writing and Editing)


1988–2003:	Editor 1988-2002 of the CEA Critic (the scholarly journal), and 1988-2003 of the CEA Forum (the newsletter/magazine), of the College English Association, a national organization for college English teachers. Also created the original web site for the organization and managed it until September 2005. Also managed the CEA Forum archive.
1978–80:	Part-time and freelance editor for the Modern Language Association, New York, New York—the largest national professional organization for teachers of college English and foreign languages. Responsibilities included editing and supervising production of a journal for college administrators, designing brochures, copyediting manuscripts for books and articles, indexing books, proofing, and writing research reports.
1976–78:	Editorial assistant to a team of scientists and economists headed by Nobel Laureate Wassily Leontief, New York University. Responsibilities included editing technical manuscripts and grant proposals and proofing galleys for nonnative speakers of English.
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Representative Publications

Books:

(Book with Scholarly Focus) Bowers, Bege K., and Barbara Brothers, eds. Reading and Writing Women’s Lives: A Study of the Novel of Manners. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1990; reissued by the University of Rochester Press in November 2010. (In 1991, rights to the book were bought by Boydell & Brewer [England] and the University of Rochester Press [New York]). Also coauthor of the introduction (pp. 1–17) and author of the chapter titled “George Eliot’s Middlemarch and the ‘Text’ of the Novel of Manners” (pp. 105–17).

(Book with Scholarly/Pedagogical Focus) Bowers, Bege K., and Mark Allen, eds. Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1986–1996. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002. 752 pages. Winner of the 2004 MLA Prize for Distinguished Bibliography, a national/international book award.

(Book with Pedagogical/Professional Focus) Bowers, Bege K., and Chuck Nelson, eds. Internships in Technical Communication: A Guide for Students, Faculty Supervisors, and Internship Sponsors. Arlington, VA: Society for Technical Communication, 1991. Also wrote Preface and Chapter 2 (pp. 14–26) and compiled the bibliography.

Chapters in Books, 1995–:

Bowers, Bege K. “Samuel Warren.” In British Reform Writers, 1732–1914. Dictionary of Literary Biography, no. 190. Ed. Gary Kelly and Edd Applegate. Detroit, Washington, D.C., and London: Gale Research, 1998. 334–38.

Bowers, Bege K. “Florence Nightingale.” In British Travel Writers, 1837–1875. Dictionary of Literary Biography, no. 166. Ed. Barbara Brothers and Julia Gergits. Detroit, Washington, D.C., and London: Gale Research, 1996. 265–74.

Bowers, Bege K. “Henry Peter Brougham.” In British Reform Writers, 1789–1832. Dictionary of Literary Biography, no. 158. Ed. Gary Kelly and Edd Applegate. Detroit, Washington, D.C., and London: Gale Research, 1996. 36–42.

Publications in Refereed Journals, 1995–:

Allen, Mark, and Bege K. Bowers. “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2010.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 34 (2012, forthcoming); “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2009.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 33 (2011): 389-461; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2008.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 32 (2010): 477-578; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2007.” “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2007.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 31 (2009): 399-497; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2006.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 30 (2008): 425-516; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2005.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 29 (2007): 565-660; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2004.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 28 (2006): 349–423; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2003.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 27 (2005): 381–470; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2002.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 26 (2004): 443–535; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2001.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 25 (2003): 459–546; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 2000.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 24 (2002): 455–561; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1999.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 23 (2001): 615–99; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1998.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 22 (2000): 557–656; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1997.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 21 (1999): 409–500; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1996.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 20 (1998): 355–438; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1995.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 19 (1997): 353–447; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1994.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 18 (1996): 317–96; “An Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1993.” Studies in the Age of Chaucer 17 (1995): 287–362. (I have served as co-compiler of this annual bibliography since 1985 but have listed only the bibliographies since 1995 in this online vita.)

Bowers, Bege K. Rev. of Visualizing Technical Information: A Cultural Critique, by Lee Brasseur; and Shaping Information: The Rhetoric of Visual Conventions, by Charles Kostelnick and Michael Hassett. Technical Communication Quarterly 15.2 (Spring 2006): 248-52.

Bowers, Bege K. Rev. of Successful Writing at Work, by Philip C. Kolin. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication 25.1 (1995): 112–14.

Publications in Refereed Proceedings, 1995–:

Bowers, Bege K., Janice Elias, and Sharon Stringer. “Conducting a Self-Study in Turbulent and Changing Times.” A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, 2009. Chicago: Higher Learning Commission, 2009. This publication was based on our experience leading YSU’s University-wide reaccreditation process during 2006–2008.

Elias, Janice, and Bege K. Bowers. “Conducting a Successful and Rewarding Self-Study.” A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement. Chicago: Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, 1999. 273–77. This publication was based on our experience leading YSU’s University-wide reaccreditation process.

Editor of a National Journal, 1995–2003:

Editor of the CEA Critic (1988-2002), the scholarly journal, and the CEA Forum (1988-2003), the newsletter/magazine, of the College English Association. The Critic published three volumes a year; the Forum published two. (The Forum became an online publication in 1999.) We housed, edited, and produced the Critic at YSU. I received the College English Association’s Distinguished Service Award in April 1996 for my work as editor of the journals. (Critic co-editors included Barbara Brothers and Julia Gergits.)

Other:

For a number of years, I compiled the Chaucer Research-in-Progress Reports for the Chaucer Review and Neuphilologische Mitteilungen.

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Selected Professional Service and Consulting

See also the Professional Experience–Administrative/Service section above.

Assistant Bibliographer, New Chaucer Society (International Organization), 1986–2012.

College English Association Executive Board, 1988–2005 (National Organization); CEA Forum Web Archive Manager.

August 2009: Conducted Two-Day Workshop on Conducting a Higher Learning Commission Self-Study, Henderson State University.

2010-2012: Deacon; 2004-2008: Elder; 2001–2011: Web Manager, First Presbyterian Church, Youngstown, Ohio.

2002–2012: Member of the Performance Report/Statistical Profiles Consultation Committee and Technical Subcommittee, Ohio Board of Regents.

1993–2004: Coordinator and judge for the Manitoba, Canada-Northeastern Ohio Student Technical Writing Competition, a regional branch of the International Student Technical Writing Competition. The contest involved eleventh and twelfth graders throughout Manitoba, Canada, and northeastern Ohio.

2002–2003: Member of the Articulation and Transfer Policy Review Committee, Ohio Board of Regents.

1999–2001: Member of the Ohio Department of Education committees on K-12 academic standards, benchmarks, and grade-level indicators in English Language Arts.

1998–2001: Member of the Ohio Board of Regents/Department of Education Joint Council committee on academic standards for students entering college and/or the workforce. Also on the subcommittee for English Language Arts.

1995–2000: Secretary, Board of Deacons, First Presbyterian Church, Youngstown, Ohio; editor, FPC Focus on People and Community, the quarterly newsletter of First Presbyterian Church, Youngstown.

1995–96: Consultant to Western Reserve Care System (now part of Forum Health), Youngstown, Ohio, evaluating and determining the reading level of informational material the hospitals distribute to patients.

1994–95: Consultant to the Akron, Ohio, Beacon Journal, helping administrators with business and grant writing.

Reader of manuscripts and proposals for various presses and journals, including the Chaucer Review, winter 2003; Visual Design for Digital Documents for Addison Wesley Longman Publishers, summer 2002; Linda Smoak Schwartz’s The Schwartz Guide to MLA Documentation for Harcourt Brace, fall 1999; James D. Lester’s Writing Research Papers for Longman/Addison-Wesley Publishers, fall 1996; Chaucer’s Fame in England, a scholarly book, for the Modern Language Association, spring 1996; and Ourselves Among Others, a composition textbook, for Bedford-St. Martin’s Press, fall 1995.

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Professional Memberships/Scholarly Affiliations

College English Association (National Organization, Executive Board, Distinguished Service Award), College English Association of Ohio, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (National Organization), Society for Technical Communication (International Organization), Northeastern Ohio Society for Technical Communication (Former Planning Committee; Past Chair, Manitoba, Canada-Northeastern Ohio High School Technical Writing Competition), Modern Language Association (National/International Organization; Past Chair of the Committee on Chaucer Bibliography and Research), New Chaucer Society (International Organization, Assistant Bibliographer until June 2012), National Education Association (NEA), the YSU Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi (Repeated Terms on the Executive Committee and Membership Committee; Former Web Manager; Secretary 1994–98), and the Gould Society Faculty/Staff Committee.

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Selected Honors


2012-:	Administrator Emeritus, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio
2010:	Member of Proposal Writing Team, Awarded $250,000 State of Ohio Grant Designating the Youngstown, OH, area as a Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in Advanced Materials, Commercialization, and Software Development
2010:	Distinguished Member Award, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
2006:	Inducted as Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honour Society
2005:	Recipient of the College English Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award—recognition for career achievement
2004:	Recipient of the 2004 MLA Prize for Distinguished Bibliography, for co-edited book Annotated Chaucer Bibliography, 1986–1996 (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2002)
2004:	Member of Grant Writing Team, Awarded $150,000 Ohio Board of Regents Visioning Grant for Mahoning Area Consortium Tech Prep
2003:	Member of Grant Writing Team, Awarded $600,000 Kresge Grant for Youngstown State University's Recreation and Wellness Center
2002:	Associate Fellow Award, Society for Technical Communication (National Award)
2001:	Distinguished Chapter Service Award, Society for Technical Communication (Northeast Ohio Chapter)
2000:	Distinguished Professor Award for University Service, Youngstown State University
2000:	Athena Award Nominee, Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce
1999:	Recipient of the Society for Technical Communication’s 1999 Jay R. Gould Award—an international award for excellence in teaching, mentoring (both current students and alumni), and Professional Writing and Editing program development

1996:	Recipient of the College English Association’s Distinguished Service Award, an award for service to the national association (primarily through editing its publications)
1996:	Distinguished Professor Award for Public Service, Youngstown State University
1994–95:	Sabbatical Leave, Youngstown State University
1993–94:	$1400 Grant from the New Chaucer Society
1985–92:	Graduate Research Council Grants, Youngstown State University
1991:	NEH Summer Institute on Victorian Culture, Yale University

1988:	Distinguished Graduate Faculty, Youngstown State University
1988:	Research Professorship, Youngstown State University
1987:	Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, Youngstown State University
1987:	Centurian Outstanding Professor Award, Youngstown State University
Other:	Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society (University of Tennessee); Phi Beta Kappa (Vanderbilt University); Honorary Member, Golden Key International Honour Society (Youngstown State University)
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E-mail:bkbowers@ysu.edu