English Department M.A. Program
Half-Time Graduate Assistantship, 2015-16
Position 2: Shakespeare Festival & English Dept. Communications
The English M.A. Program has a half-time graduate assistantship position (10 hours per week) to be offered to a graduate student admitted to the English M.A. Program. The assistantship will begin in August 2015 and end in April 2016. The position will be offered pending funding.
Title:
English Department Graduate Assistant: Shakespeare Festival & English Dept. Communications
Terms:
This is a half-time position (ten hours per week), with beginning and ending dates corresponding with the 2015-2016 academic year, approximately August 31, 2015, through April 30, 2016. This assistantship is open only to students who have been admitted to the English M.A. Program and who enroll in a minimum of 5 credit hours each semester. The assistantship includes a tuition waiver for 4.5 graduate credit hours and a stipend of $2,000 for each semester. A student who accepts the graduate assistantship may not accept other on-campus employment.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
The graduate assistant will have two primary responsibilities, five hours per week on each:
1) The graduate assistant will help coordinate the GVSU Shakespeare Festival in Fall 2015 in several ways:
a. Coordinating the Festival student competition and the awards ceremony with the other events in the Festival’s lineup, incl. the Bard to Go performance and any other presentations planned for the awards ceremony
b. Scheduling rooms and food service for the awards ceremony
c. Assisting with the advertising/marketing of the competition on campus with a goal of making all faculty aware of the competition in order to help encourage student participation
d. Organizing a panel of judges for the competition
e. Fielding inquiries, answering questions, and generally troubleshooting the daily progress of the event throughout September and October
In addition to these responsibilities directly related to planning the student competition, the graduate assistant, in the remaining time available under the terms of the assistantship, will also have some appropriate responsibilities for the Shakespeare Festival more generally, including:
a. Keeping and publishing minutes of the Shakespeare Festival meetings for 2014
b. Updating the mailing/email list of area schools and teachers for the Festival
c. Assisting the Festival Director and Dr. Miller with any responsibilities that would be appropriate and productive for a graduate assistant, including dramaturgical research for the lobby display at the mainstage production if appropriate.
Qualifications:
An ideal candidate will exhibit editing skills and have experience with, or aptitude for, computer editing and publishing programs (particularly Microsoft Publisher), and for other computer tasks, including mail-merge, Excel spread sheets, and web site maintenance. This assistantship is open only to students who have been admitted to the English M.A. Program and who enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours each semester. A student who accepts the graduate assistantship may not accept other on-campus employment.
Work Station:
The work station for this assistant will be 131 Lake Huron Hall on the Allendale Campus. This office is set up to allow the graduate assistant to work independently.
Orientation/Supervision:
Orientation will be held the first week of work. Dr. Miller will orient the GA concerning primary responsibilities. Mary Feenstra will orient the GA concerning English Department resources and staffing. The GA will be supervised by Dr. Miller and will receive an evaluation from him at the semester’s end.
Renewal:
This position is for the academic year and is not automatically renewable.
Selection Process:
The position will be advertised on The Graduate School (TGS) website and by direct e-mail contact with English M.A. students.
Submit application materials including: 1) Cover letter stating your interest in the assistantship and describing your relevant experience and qualifications; 2) curriculum vitae or resume, to Dr. Jo Miller via email: [email protected].
Applicants with skills and experience appropriate to the position will be interviewed by a faculty committee, who will select the candidate who best meets the requirements of the position.
Application Deadline: May 1, 2015
Contact Information:
Professor Jo Miller
Director, English M.A. Program
Department of English, 164 Lake Huron Hall
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, MI 49401
Phone: (616) 331-3405
E-mail: [email protected]