Lamar University

     The office of Graduate Studies and Research 

Mission Statement

 Lamar University is a comprehensive senior public university dedicated to providing a learning environment of the highest quality.  The University is an educational, scientific, engineering, business, and cultural resource center committed to the three-fold mission of teaching, research, and service.  The University is committed to providing students with a liberal education in the context of a global and multicultural environment, and seeks partnerships with business, government, industrial and other educational organizations to more efficiently accomplish its goals.

                    Dr. Jerry W. Bradley

     Dean of College Graduate Studies &Research

Graduate education maintains a strong presence and a place of prominence on the Lamar University campus. The primary purpose of the College of Graduate Studies is to define and support excellence in graduate education and the research and scholarly activities attendant to it. The College of Graduate Studies establishes through the Graduate Council a set of policies that define good practice in all graduate programs, high quality in curriculum, excellence in student admissions, and rigor in graduate faculty appointments. Although it is necessary and expected that each academic program will have its own standards for excellence (curriculum requirements, admission standards, etc.), the College’s role is to provide a mechanism whereby the Lamar faculty define the minimum standards acceptable for post-baccalaureate work and to ensure that both the campus-wide and program-specific standards articulated and approved by the faculty are being observed. Because the University’s name is on every graduate degree awarded, its reputation is at stake in the awarding of that degree. By establishing minimum admission, credit-hour, grade point, and completion requirements, the College of Graduate Studies ensures that there is some degree of equity in the standards for all master’s and doctoral degrees.

The College of Graduate Studies reviews all and develops new graduate programs, reviews existing programs, and sets academic policies that govern graduate study. It recruits new graduate students and processes all graduate and international admissions. It oversees a large financial aid program and monitors all graduate fellowships, assistantships, and employment. It also assists international students with financial aid, housing, health insurance, and other services. The College monitors student academic progress and the appointment and approval of faculty graduate committees; it further maintains academic records and degree verification. The College also reviews and approves theses and dissertations.

Research and graduate education are inextricably linked because research molds and defines the content of graduate course work. To promote intellectual communication among and between graduate students and faculty, the College of Graduate Studies supports faculty research (through Research Enhancement Grants and other awards), student and professional research conferences, the McNair Scholars program, and other Lamar initiatives. It also publishes an annual Scholarly and Creative Activity bulletin to showcase the professional activity of Lamar’s faculty. The College is also a prime advocate of externally sponsored research and maintains various databases to support faculty research; it also participates in TSUS system-wide research programs. Additionally, the College convenes meetings of the Research Council and the University Patent Committee.

The following tables and supporting information are provided to document the growth of graduate education at Lamar. That growth would have been impossible without the support and cooperation of the University’s administration and its fine faculty and staff. In August, 2001, I succeeded Dr. Robert Moulton as Dean of the College of Graduate Studies who left the University in 2000. (Dr. James Westgate served as Interim Dean prior to my hiring.) 

The figures provided report the level of the College’s services in Dr. Moulton’s last year and those compiled during my three years of service.

New Graduate Degrees

New doctorates in Audiology (2002) and Education (2004) were inaugurated.  A Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering has been approved by the Texas State University System and is being considered by the State.

Graduate Demographic

Since Fall 99, graduate student enrollment has increased 55.8% and now comprises 11.5% of the Lamar student body.

Full-time enrollment is up 85.7%; all colleges except for Fine Arts & Communication show an increase.

  Part-time enrollment is up 25.4% with all colleges reporting increases       

 All colleges show an increase in total enrollment except for Fine Arts & Communication

Master’s enrollment is up 57.2%; doctoral enrollment is up 20.7%.

Degrees awarded have increased 33.2%.

Total semester credit hours have increased 65.0%

International Student Services

International enrollment has increased 111.9%.  In 1999 international students comprised 26.3% of total graduate enrollment, increasing to 47.1% in 2002.  International students now make up 6.0% of Lamar’s total enrollment.

Recruitment: Completed Information Handbook for International Students and Exchange Visitors, 2004-2005 and International Student Handbook.  http://dept.lamar.edu/graduatestudies/intstdhandbook.htm.

SEVIS:  To further Homeland Security, Lamar University is now required to participate institutionally in the Students and Exchange Visitors Information Network for all international admissions. 

Research and Sponsored Program Expenditures

Lamar received funding for 66 external awards totaling $9,462,671 for FY 2003; 45 grants seeking $8,171,116 are still pending for FY 2003.

Research Enhancement Grants

Even though Lamar University lost State support for research (resulting in the downturn in awards after 1999-2000), the College of Graduate Studies has increased the number of Research Enhancement Grants awarded annually.

Additional Research-Related Support

Creative and Scholarly Activity:  The College of Graduate Studies began publishing a Creative and Scholarly Activity booklet annually in 2002 to highlight the scholarly and creative production of Lamar faculty.

University Scholar Award:  The College of Graduate Studies annually funds the University Scholar Award.

Course Reduction Awards:  Beginning in 2002-03, the College of Graduate Studies instituted course-reduction awards to Lamar faculty.

Supplementary Faculty Research Travel Support: The College of Graduate Studies supports faculty travel for research.

Research Web Site Assistance

Lamar faculty submitted 137 research proposals during 2003-04.  To assist Lamar faculty with sponsored research, the College of Graduate Studies offers the following web site assistance:

Lamar Research Web Site: The College of Graduate Studies maintains an extensive research web site to assist faculty with sponsored research: http://dept.lamar.edu/graduatestudies/grants/.

It also provides the following important links:

Grant Advisor Plus: A commercial service that can be accessed only from computers on the Lamar campus. Users agree not to broadcast Grant Advisor Plus materials on the Internet. Timely reminders of upcoming deadlines, abstracts of grant opportunities, hyperlinks to other sources of grant information. Includes information on Fine Arts, Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, Education, International, Health Related, Minorities/Women, and other areas and interests. Provides access to the Federal Register.  http://www.grantadvisor.com

National Science Foundation: A large, well-maintained source of information.  http://www.nsf.gov

TRAM: Texas Research: Lists research funding opportunities and provides links to agency forms (provides electronic forms for many grant agencies), federal regulations, and example policies. A link to University Sponsored Research Office gives the home pages of many university research offices, providing useful sources of information about specific grant opportunities.  http://tram.east.asu.edu/

The Distance Learning Funding Sourcebook: Support for telecommunications in teaching and research.  http://www.odu.edu/dl/nutn/funding_sources.html

TENET:  Federal and Texas educational grant programs and foundations and corporate sources of research funds.  Provides WEB addresses for grant information and provides abstracts on grant competitions with forthcoming deadlines.  http://www.tenet.edu/

Advanced Research Program ARP - Advanced Technology Program ATP:  State of Texas funding competition  for promotion of research and technology development in Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Marine Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Physics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Aerospace, Agriculture and Aquaculture, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Computer and Information Engineering, Energy, Environmental Science and Engineering, Recycling, and Water Resources, Manufacturing Technology, Marine Technology, Materials Technology, Microelectronics, Telecommunications.  http://www.arpatp.com/

TSUS Research Initiatives

The Research Directors of TSUS schools began a series of system research collaborations in 2002.  The program received its first award from the Houston Endowment to support teacher retention.  In 2003 it received a Congressional appropriation of $1.8 million for a border water research initiative; that program has been earmarked by Congress to be re-funded.  Lamar’s College of Graduate Studies hosted several system-wide planning sessions in support of the border water initiative.  Other initiatives in math education, transportation, and homeland security are underway. 

Personal Scholarly and Professional Achievements :

.  I. Teaching

	English 4312/5312, Studies in Language and Linguistics (Applied Grammar), Spring 2002
	English 5316, Studies in Victorian Literature, Fall 2002.
	English 4312/5312, Studies in Language and Linguistics (Applied Grammar), Fall  2003.
	English 4312/5312, Studies in Language and Linguistics (Applied Grammar), Fall  2004.

II.  Scholarly/Creative Activity

Essays:

	“Don’t Dance—Don’t Wanna: A Twelve Step Approach to Country-and-Western Dancing,” Amarillo Bay, 3:4, 2001.
	“The Importance of Elsewhere,” Anthology. Stephenville, TX: Tarleton State   University Press, 2002.
	“Domestic Tranquility and National Defense: The Personal History of Walt McDonald,” The Waltz He Was Born For: An Introduction to the Writing   of Walt McDonald, Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2002.

Poetry:

	“Burning Love,” “For a Texas Beauty,” “How the Big Thicket Got Smaller,”  Texas in Poetry 2, Fort Worth: TCU Press, 2002.
	“A Single Sheep, One Cow,” Anthology.  Stephenville, TX: Tarleton State University Press, 2002.
	“Earshot,” New Texas, 2002.
	“Bible Lesson,” “Flint,” North Stone Review, 14, 2002.
	“Life, Death, Time, Love, and Scenery,” Burnside Review, 1:1, 2004.
	“Drifter,” Taj Mahal Review, 3:1, 2004.
	“How the Big Thicket Got Smaller,” Falling from Grace in Texas, forthcoming

Book Reviews:

	“The Beautiful Girl Whose Wish Was Not Fulfilled,” Concho River Review, 17:1,        2003.
	“Facts of Life,” Concho River Review, 17:1, 2003.
	“Western Settings,” Concho River Review, 17:2, 2003.
	“A Tale for the Grateful Dead,” Concho River Review, 18:1, 2004.
	“Petitions for Immortality: Scenes from the Life of John Keats,” Concho River Review, 18:1, 2004.

Interview:

“Dean’s Corner,” KVLU-TV, September 20, 2001.

Citations:

	Janice Whittington and Andrew Hudgins, eds., The Waltz He Was Born For: An Introduction to the Writing of Walt McDonald, Lubbock: Texas Tech   University Press, 2002 (jacket blurb).
	Larry D. Thomas, The Woodlanders, San Antonio, TX: Pecan Grove Press, 2002 (jacket blurb).
	Sandra Gail Teichmann, Killing Daddy, Spring, TX: Panther Creek Press, 2003 (jacket blurb).

Presentations:

	“The Democratization of Research: What Did We Learn from the ‘50s?” keynote speaker, Lamar University  Student Research Conference, 2002.
	“Robert Flynn: A Life in Letters,” Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers conference, Beaumont, TX, 2002.
	“How I Started in Research,” Lamar Student Research Organization, Beaumont, TX, 2002.
	Guest lecture on research, Dr. Michael Warren’s Biology 5100 seminar, 2003.
	“Literature and Class: We Should Be Kind While There Is Still Time,” Sigma Tau Delta induction speech, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, 2003.
	“Straddling the Fence: Poetic Persona in Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, 2003.

Literary Readings:

	Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association, Albuquerque, NM, 2002.
	Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, 2002.
	Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, Lubbock, TX, 2002.
	Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association, Albuquerque, NM, 2003.
	Angelo State University Writers Conference in Honor of Elmer Kelton, San Angelo, TX, 2003.
	Conference of College Teachers of English, San Antonio, TX, 2003.
	Popular Culture Association, New Orleans, LA, 2003.
	Borders Poetry Reading Series, Houston, TX, 2003.
	Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, Fredericksburg, TX, 2003.
	South Central Modern Language Association, Hot Springs, AR, 2003.
	Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association, Albuquerque, NM, 2004.
	Angelo State University Writers Conference in Honor of Elmer Kelton, San Angelo, TX, 2004.
	Conference of College Teachers of English, Beaumont, TX, 2004.
	Lamar Literary Festival, Beaumont, TX, 2004.
	Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association, San Antonio, TX, 2004.

III.  Professional Service

	Executive Council, Texas Institute of Letters, 2001-present.
	Operating Council Member, Texas International Education Consortium, 2001-  present.
	Councilor, Conference of College Teachers of English, 1999-2002.
	Advisory Board, Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers, 2003-04.
	Poetry Editor, Concho River Review, 1999-present.
	Board of Directors, Amarillo Bay, 1999-present.
	Editorial Board, New Texas, 1998-02.
	Manuscript Evaluator, Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of   Literature, 1997-present.
	Committee member, Joe D. Thomas Scholar-Teacher of the Year nominating committee, Texas College English Association, 2001-02.
	Judge, John Bloom humor contest, Texas Institute of Letters, 2002-03.
	Chair, creative writing sessions, Conference of College Teachers of English,2002-03.
	Area Chair, creative writing, Texas/Southwest Popular Culture Association, 1992- present.
	Judge, Creative Writing Award, Conference of College Teachers of English,2002.
	Program Chair, creative writing, Conference of College Teachers of English,2002.
	Chair, creative writing, Conference of College Teachers of English, 2002-04.
	Chair, Southern literature session, South Central Modern Language Association, 2002.
	Chair, creative writing session, South Central Modern Language Association,2003.
	Secretary, creative writing session, South Central Modern Language Association,  2002.
	Chair, creative writing session, Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers,2001-04.
	Literature Advisory Peer Panel Member, Writers’ League of Texas, Texas Commission on the Arts, 2004.
	Program chair, creative writing: fiction, Popular Culture Association, 2004- present.
	Manuscript evaluator, Lamar Literary Festival, Beaumont, TX, 2004.
	Judge, Natalie Ornish poetry contest, Texas Institute of Letters, 2004.

IV.  Professional Memberships

	Academy of American Poets.
	College English Association.
	Conference of College Teachers of English.
	National Association of Foreign Student Advisers.
	Popular Culture Association.
	Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association.
	South Central Modern Language Association.
	Texas Association of Creative Writing Teachers.
	Texas Institute of Letters.
	Texas International Educational Consortium.
	Texas/Southwest Popular Culture Association.
	Western Literature Association.

V.  Awards

	Outstanding Alumnus from Midwestern State University College of Liberal Arts, 2002.
	Texas Institute of Letters.
	Southwest /Texas Popular Culture Association (Jerry Bradley Award) given annually to the top graduate student in creative writing, 2000-present.
	Academy of American Poets
	Directory of American Scholars, 10th edition.
	International Authors and Writers Who's Who.
	International Who's Who in Poetry and Poets' Encyclopedia
	Outstanding Writers of the 20th Century
	Sigma Tau Delta, international English honor society, honorary member, inducted 2003.

VI.  University Service

	Dean, College of Graduate Studies, 2001-present.
	Associate Vice-President of Research, 2001-present.
	Chair, Graduate Council, 2001-present.
	Chair, Research Council, 2001-present.
	Chair, University Animal Care Committee, 2001-present.
	Chair, Institutional Patent Committee, 2001-present.
	Fisher Lecture Series Committee, 2001-03.
	McNair Scholars Committee, 2001-present.
	Student Research Organization Committee, 2001-present.
	International Studies Committee, 2001-present.
	Academic Council, 2001-present.
	Academic Master Planning Committee, 2001-03.
	Graduate Faculty, 2001-present.