WASHELLA TURNER SIMMONS, PH.D.

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

Ph.D., English, African American Literature, Alumni Fellow, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2005

DISSERTATION TITLE: “Unity or Dissension?: African American Literary Perspectives on Twentieth-Century Interracial Organizations and Relations,” Dr. Mark A. Reid, Director

M.A., English, Multicultural Literature, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 1999

THESIS TITLE: “The Effectiveness of Communism in the Fight for Equal Rights as Portrayed in Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter and Ellison’s Invisible Man,” Dr. Seodial Deena, Director

B.A., English, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC, 1995, Summa Cum Laude

Georgia Teaching Certificate—6-12 English

ACADEMIC/TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

Coordinator for Faculty Development
April 2017-Present

Duties: Collaborate with the Academic Affairs Office to allocate resources for faculty development activities. Coordinate the planning and execution of the annual Faculty/Staff Institute.  Facilitate the recognition of faculty achievements. Ensure adherence to all applicable local, state, and federal guidelines. Keep accurate records of faculty development opportunities, participants, and outcomes. Prepare an annual report for Title III evaluators. Provide monthly progress reports as required by Title III.

Associate Professor
September 2014-Present

• Composition I [ENGL 1101]
  
• Composition II [ENGL 1102]
  
• World Literature [ENGL 2111]
  
• Contemporary American Literature [ENGL 3343]
  
• English Orientation [ENGL 1001-Online]
  
• Genre: Fiction—The Other: Outcasts and Exile [ENGL 4713-Online]
  
• Literacy Comprehension [ENGL 1107]

Interim Department Head
September 2013-September 2014

Duties: Devised teaching schedules for each semester; handled student and professor grievances; advised online and on-campus students; submitted various reports to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; oversaw the English and Foreign Languages budget; acted as a liaison between English and Foreign Languages faculty and administration; performed faculty and staff evaluations.

Director of Freshman English
January 2012-September 2013

Duties: Oversaw reading and writing diagnostic and post-testing; prepared memos for freshman English students who needed tutorials based on testing; collected final tutorial records to create a report to determine the effectiveness of tutorials on freshman reading and writing proficiency; handled freshman-professor grievances; assisted with hiring composition instructors.

Assistant Professor
August 2009-June 2014

• African American Prose Fiction [ENGL 4043-Online]
• American Literature II [ENGL 5423]
• Black Heritage [ENGL 3033-Online]
• Composition I [ENGL 1101]
• Composition II [ENGL 1102-In Class and Online]
• Contemporary American Literature [ENGL 3343]
• Genre: Fiction—The Other: Outcasts and Exile [ENGL 4713-In Class and Online]
• Introduction to Research [ENGL 2143]
• Regents’ Writing [RGTE 0199]
• Survey of American Literature II [ENGL 2132-Online]

Savannah State University, Savannah, GA

Assistant Professor
August 2007-May 2009

• English Composition II [ENGL 1102]
• African American Literature [ENGL 2222]
• African American Nonfiction [ENGL 4218]
• African American Drama [ENGL 4211]

West Chester University, West Chester, PA

Adjunct Professor
August 2006-May 2007

• Effective Writing I [WRT 120]
• Topics in Literature [LIT 165] Slavery, Reconstruction, and the African American Dream:
• African American Literature from 1865-Present
• Modern American Novel [LIT 306]
• African American Literature Survey II [LIT 203]

Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholar
August 2005-August 2006

• Effective Writing I [WRT 120]
• Topics in Literature [LIT 165] Slavery, Reconstruction, and the African American Dream:
• African American Literature from 1865-Present
• Basic Writing [ENG Q20]
• Survey in American Literature II [LIT 201]

Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA
Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholar
June 2005-July 2005

Introduction to Literature [ENGL 110]

University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Graduate Teaching Assistant
January 2003-December 2003

• Survey of American Literature: 1865-Present [AML 2070]
• Issues in American Literature and Culture [AML 2410] Resistance, Negotiation, and
• Misrepresentation: African American Narratives from 1845-1960

Lenoir Community College, Kinston, NC

Full-Time English Instructor/Advisor
August 1999-July 2002

• Expository Writing [ENG 111]
• Literature-Based Research [ENG 113]
• Developmental Reading [RED 080 and 090]
• Developmental Writing [ENG 080 and 090]
• Technical Writing I [ENG 101]
• High School Senior Dual Enrollment Program

Adult High School Lab Teacher
June 1999-July 1999

GED English and Math

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Writing Center Tutor and Graduate Teaching Assistant
January 1998-May 1999

• Freshman Composition [ENGL 1200]
• Computer Consultant and Tutor for the Writing Center
• Facilitator of English Instructional Workshops

Pitt Community College, Greenville, NC
Developmental English Teacher and Tutor
August 1998-December 1998

• Reading and Writing Foundations [ENG 085]
• Reading and Writing Foundations Lab [ENG 085A]

Eastern Wayne High School, Goldsboro, NC
High School English Teacher
August 1996-December 1997

• English I, II, and IV
• Additional Activities: Co-Advisor of the National Honor Society, Member of the Attendance Waiver Committee, School News Coordinator, and Junior Varsity Cheerleading Coach

Norwayne Middle School, Fremont, NC
Seventh Grade Teacher
August 1995-May 1996

Seventh Grade Language Arts and Social Studies

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

• Secretary, University Curriculum Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2014-Present
• Chair, FVSU Online Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2014-2016
• Chair, College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2013-2015
• Co-Chair, Institutional Effectiveness Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2012-2014
• Interim Head, English and Foreign Languages Department, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2013-2014
• Member, FVSU Online Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2012-2013
• Director of Freshman English, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2012-2013
• Departmental Coordinator of Diagnostic and Regents’ Testing, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2010-2012
• Member, Regents’ Test Task Force, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2010
• Tutor, Warner Robins Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 2010
• Chair, English and Foreign Languages Department Library Committee, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, 2009-2013
• Assistant, English Club,  Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA 2009-2010
• Chair, Writing Sequence Committee, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA, 2008-2009
• Chair, English Exit Exam Committee, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA, 2007-2009
• Chair, Technology Committee, Savannah State University, Savannah, GA, 2007-2008
• Poll Worker, Gainesville, FL, 2004-2005
• Co-Chair, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Administrative Processes Sub-Committee, Lenoir Community College, Kinston, NC, 2001-2002
• Chair, Student Recognition Committee, Lenoir Community College, Kinston, NC, 2000-2002
• Graduate Representative for Composition Committee, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 1999
  

LECTURES

• Co-Host and Speaker, Tribute to Maya Angelou
  October 9, 2014 Pettigrew Center Auditorium, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

• Speaker, Critical Thinking Day
  April 30, 2013 Pettigrew Center, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

• Co-Presenter, For Colored Girls Book Discussion
  April 6, 2011 Pettigrew Center, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

• Co-Presenter, eLearning Workshop I-“Turnitin.com-Fighting Plagiarism”
  July 8, 2010 Faculty Center for Improving Instruction and Leadership, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

• Facilitator, R. Benjamin Wiley Partnership Program
  June 20-21, 2006 African American History and Culture, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA

• Chair, Frederick Douglass Institute for Academic Excellence Sixth Annual Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Conference
  April 19, 2006 Slavery and Contemporary American Culture, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA

• Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholar Presentation
  March 7, 2006 “Competing Masculinities in Chester Himes’ If He Hollers Let Him Go and Richard Wright’s ‘Man of All Work’”

• Chair, The Eighth Undergraduate Conference in the Humanities
  April 13, 2002 Major Figures in African American Letters, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC

• Scholar, Let’s Talk About It: Reading and Discussion Program in North Carolina Libraries, Sponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council
  
  • October 26, 2000 Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Braswell Memorial Library, Rocky Mount, NC
    
  • March 31, 1999 Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, Craven County Library, New Bern, NC

• Facilitator, Braswell Memorial Library Book Discussion Group, Rocky Mount, NC
  
  • March 22, 2001 Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve
    
  • March 1, 2001 Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God
  • February 8, 2001 Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory

• Facilitator, Youth Today, Inc., Mother-Daughter Book Club, Greenville, NC
  • March 27, 2002 Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden
  • January 23, 2002 Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  • September 26, 2001 Angela Johnson’s Heaven
  • July 25, 2001 E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• College English Association, 2016
• College Language Association, 2004-2005, 2007-2015
• Frederick Douglass Institute Board, 2005-2007
• Modern Language Association, 2004-2007
• Writing Program Advisory Committee, University of Florida, 2004
• Black Graduate Student Organization, University of Florida, 2002-2003
• English Graduate Student Organization, East Carolina University, 1998-1999
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., 1993-Present

HONORS, AWARDS, AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Biltmore Who’s Who, 2011
• Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholar, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, 2005-2006
• Frederick Douglass Teaching Scholar, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA, Summer 2005
• New Student Service Award, University of Florida, Black Graduate Student Organization, 2003
• Alpha Chi Honor Society, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC, 1994-1995
• Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City, NC, 1994-1995
• University of Chapel Hill Institute of Government Intern, Meredith College, Raleigh, NC, 1993

PUBLICATIONS

• “Industrial War: Attaway, Himes, and African Americans in Industry during the World Wars.” Black Writers and the Left essay collection published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, June 2013.
• The Twenties in America entry on James Weldon Johnson published by Salem Press, 2012.
• Great Lives from History: African Americans entry on Terry McMillan published by Salem Press, 2011.
• “The Limitations of Color: Inferiority and Superiority Complexes in the Works of W.E.B. Du Bois and Jessie Fauset.” CLA Journal, June 2010.
• “The Origin of Negative Black Male Stereotypes and the Effects of These Stereotypes on Society in America Today.” Proceedings of the English Association of the Pennsylvania State Universities Conference on Working with Students, Students at Work published by Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1998.

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS

• “’Georgia on My Mind’: Jean Toomer’s Portrait of Middle Georgia Women in Cane.” Accepted for publication in Essays on Life in Early 20th Century Middle Georgia to be published by McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Summer 2017.
• “Passing, Color Consciousness, and the Quest for Equality in the Novels of Jessie Fauset, Nella Larsen, and George Schuyler.” Accepted for publication in Writing the Harlem Renaissance to be published by Rowman and Littlefield (Lexington Books), Fall 2017.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

• “Color Consciousness Revisited: The Complexities of Color in Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry and Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child.” 47th Annual College English Association Conference, Denver, CO, March 31-April 2, 2016.
• “A Portrait of Southern Women: Jean Toomer’s Tribute to Georgia Women in Cane.” Fort Valley State University 2nd Annual Research Day: “Scholarship in Action,” Fort Valley, GA, April 12, 2012.
• “Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire: The Hope, Struggles, and Perils of Northern Migration in William Attaway’s Blood on the Forge and Carl Offord’s The White Face. ” 70th Annual College Language Association Convention, Brooklyn, NY, April 7-10, 2010.
• “The Limitations of Color: Inferiority and Superiority Complexes in the Works of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and Jessie Fauset.” 2009 National Conference of the National Association of African American Studies, Baton Rouge, LA, February 9-14, 2009.
• “Unity or Dissension?: African American Authors’ Views on the Effectiveness of the NAACP.”  33rd Annual 20th-Century Literature and Culture Conference, Louisville, KY, February 24-26, 2005.
• “Transcending Patriarchy by Creating a New Space: Lucia’s and Maiguru’s Journey to a New African Feminism in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions.” 12th Annual British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, Savannah, GA, February 28-March 1, 2003.
• “The Effects of Industrialization on an Indian Society as Portrayed in Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve.” 11th Annual British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, Savannah, GA, February 22-23, 2002.
• “Gordimer’s Treatment of Communism in Burger’s Daughter.” 9th Annual British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, Savannah, GA, February 24-26, 2000.
• “Ralph Singh’s and the Invisible Man’s Search for Identity Under Oppressive Conditions.” 59th Annual College Language Association Convention, Fayetteville, NC, April 14-17, 1999.
• “The Influence of Race and Ethnicity on Postcolonial Mimicry Present in Naipaul’s The Mimic Men.” 8th Annual British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, Statesboro, GA, March 26-27, 1999.
• “The Origin of Negative Black Male Stereotypes and the Effects of These Stereotypes on Society in America Today.” The English Association of the Pennsylvania State Universities 1998 Conference, Indiana, PA, October 15-17, 1998.