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Full listing > Accession MC2011/234: Boxes 1 and 2
Accession #MC2011/234: Boxes 1 and 2
TopicKlingler, Charles: Collection,
TitleProfessor Charles Klingler Collection
Size2 Boxes
LocationIS, Unit #9, Bottom Two Shelves (IS)
CitationProfessor Charles Klingler Collection, MC2011/234: Boxes 1 and 2, Archives and Brethren Historical Collection, Funderburg Library, Manchester University, North Manchester, Indiana.
AccessResearchers are responsible for determining copyright status of archived materials where this is relevant to their intended use of the materials.
ProvenanceProfessor Charles Klingler
Scope and Content

Professor Charles Klingler taught English at Manchester College for 35 years [1959 - 1994].  He partially retired during December of 1993 but stayed on through the Spring of 1994 to finish up the Writing Across the Curriculum program and to write the final grant report for this project.

Box 1:

Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) 1981 - 1995.  Includes complete set of Writing to Learn, 1988 - 1994.

Box 2:

Syllabi for Humanities Core Courses:

    • Life and Death
    • Humanities Symposium featuring the work of James Adams, Robert Jones, Mary McNees, Kendall Rogers, Scott Strode and Larry Underberg.
    • Beauty and Ugliness.
    • Good and Evil.
    • Arts and Ideas.

All during the 1970's, beginning in 1969, Manchester College developed courses in the humanities and maybe courses in the social sciences as well, but Professor Klingler was involved in the humanities courses that combined the ideas outlined above.  These met a general education requirement.  Students were required to take these core courses.  This came from an old idea that the Univeresity of Chicago used years ago.

 

Master's Thesis, Susan Dodson, May 1977. "Women and American Society," A Master's Project Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Manchester College.

"Oak Leaves," announcing new professors as MC faculty members, including Charles Klingler biography. 

Martin Prizes, 1988 - 1993.

English Department Newsletters, 1983 - 1993.

Dr. Doris Garey Reading Lists.

Statements by Charles Klingler on Department, Division and College Matters.

Independent Study Program ( a list of the year 1960 - 1961).

Date of Accession29 December 2011
Bio History Note

Writing Across the Curriculum - The Concept

 

The premise of the program, “Writing Across the Curriculum,” was based on the concept that all teachers are teachers of writing.  In other words, no matter what the subject, writing is an important aspect of teaching.  There was general agreement about this concept on campus and a program was set up to help faculty, other than English faculty who did this type of thing all the time, become an adjunct to students who were learning how to write.

 

Writing Across the Curriculum 1981 – 1995

The trend, or movement, for this type of writing instruction was in the academic “air” at many schools and a WAC curriculum was set up on campus of which Professor Klingler was a member.   Eventually, during the latter part of the program he would become chairman and finally, grant director.

 

 A member of the College faculty, Professor Buzzard, attended a conference off-campus where he was inspired by the story of Professor Anne Loux, an English professor at St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana.   Loux had actually taken initiative and had done something to promote a WAC program at her institution.  Buzzard returned to share Loux’s story with colleagues at Manchester.

 

Jim Pitts, the Academic Dean, and Professor Klingler, composed a grant proposal and submitted it to the Lilly Corporation.  When representatives from Lilly came to campus for an interview, Dean Pitts asked Professor Klinger to be the spokesperson for the College and to lead the group’s discussion.   Needless to say the grant was received and Pitts asked Klingler to direct it.

 

The grant lasted 3 years.   There were 3 workshops each May, 1992, 1993, 1994.  In each of those years, a week after school ended in May, a workshop was conducted for about a dozen-or-so faculty who received a stipend for participation.  The stipend was an enticement had been wisely written into the grant. The outside expert hired to conduct May workshops for these years was none other than the outstanding Anne Loux from St. Mary’s.  Sometimes Professor Loux brought along members of her faculty who had already been through similar training.

 

About 30 - 35 Manchester College faculty attended these week-long workshops during those 3 years (about a dozen each year, each year had different participants).   They felt it was a worthwhile experience.   In the last year of the program, before leaving campus, Anne sat down with

Professor Klingler  and outlined a monthly program, a topical outline, for the next year.  Anne had gotten to know Manchester College faculty and as the topical outline was drafted Anne also was able to talk about faculty who might serve as presenters.    This was important because Professor Klingler had partially retired during December of 1993 and had stayed on through the Spring of 1994 to finish up the Writing Across the Curriculum program and to write the final grant report.

 

Writing to Learn 1988 - 1994:

 

During 1988 - 1994 Professor Klingler was writing periodically, not on a regular basis, but irregularly, a little newsletter about the subject of writing, including writing across the curriculum.  He might have put out a total of 20-30 newsletters during those years.  See the little folder "Writing to Learn, 1989 - 19194."

Klingler reports that he had a lot of fun doing this!  Domoputers were fairly new at that time and he thinks Dwight Farringer help him put the letterhead together and it was used all the time. 

 

"A Service of the WAC Committee at Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana."  This was before the Lilly grant was obtained. Professor Klingler doesn't know it he had applied for the grant at that time or not.

 

Writing to Learn - a report will probably be mentioned about what is in the air.  July 1990 issued (3rd issue) Dean Arnette (who proceeded Pitts) was also interested in the program.  He gave a strong official statement of support.  In November of 1990 the newsletter ends with a paragraph titled, "Something is Happening."

 

Thoughts from last May 2nd, the proceeding spring...are moving like yeast among us. The concept of a writing portfolio is introduced.  A student would assemble a writing portfolio as part of the academic requirement.  Eiler, Boebel and Rogers helped students accumulate portfolios for use in their application to graduate school.  Other portfolios are described.

 

At this point in the interview Klingler says, "What FUN!" and excitement can be seen in his eyes.   (J. Wine).

 

May 1994 - Klinger writes an editorial farewell on his own retirement.  Faculty members were having monthly writing workshops before the grant ended .  Klingler's last topic on page 7 of the last newsletter is on some final practical hints.

 

Humanities Core Sylllabi:

    • Life and Death
    • Humanities Symposium.
    • Beauty and Ugliness.
    • Good and Evil.
    • Arts and Ideas.

All during the 1970's, beginning in 1969, Manchester College developed courses in the humanities and maybe courses in the social sciences as well, but Professor Klingler was involve in the humanities courses that combined the ideas outlined above.  These met a general education requirement.  Students wer required to take these core courses.  This came from an old idea that the Univeresity of Chicago used years ago.

Joann Martin of the Martin Prizes:  Joann was a professor in the English Department and a little after her departure a writing contest was started in her honor.  The winning entries for the Martin Prizes are included in this collection.  Klingler administered the competition and he each year he engaged a colleague from another college to judge the entries.  This was a lot to ask of his friends but Klingler reports that they did it willingly and conscientiously.  "Their doing this was rather wonderful." Charles Klingler.

Department Newsletter: For 10 years, from 1983 - 1993 they produced a department newsletter and engaged students to help out on the project.  Rowanne Daggett suggested that students were used as editors and "it worked rather well." C. Klingler.

Garey Reading Lists: Klingler describes Doris Garey as a petite lady, a wonderful  scholar, meticulous...who wrote in perfect, straight, meticulous lines.  She compiled reading lists and a few are in the box. 

Independent Study Committee: Back in the 1960's students could present a proposal to the Independent Study Committee.  The committee was composed of professors from various disciplines and the student proposal had to be approved by the committee.  Klinger liked the program because it involved members of various departments and because it was like an examination for a Doctoral degree.  The committee would read each paper produced by a student and the group would give the student an oral examination as well as a grade that relied heavily on the opinion of the faculty advisor. Klingler reports that  "This was exciting too!  It had a lot in integrity and faculty learned to respect each other's discipline.  It died out because some faculty thought it was too much work and they wanted a system that was much easier to administer."  Special Problems took over and replaced Independent Study. The only one professor had to administer the program instead of a group from various fields.

Archivist NoteDescription prepared 29 December 2011 by Jeanine M. Wine.
 


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