 |
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
|
|
|
|
At its March 26 meeting the Steering Committee of the Appalachian Studies Association unanimously passed a resolution in support of the Appalachian Studies programs at Radford University. The ASA includes an active membership of scholars, activists, and community people, 900 individual and library subscribers to the Journal of Appalachian Studies, and a constituency of some 3,000 recent participants in our annual conferences. Last year the Appalachian Studies conference attracted nearly 700 participants from 23 states as well as Canada, Italy, and the Ukraine. Our 32-year-old Association is currently being used as a model for area studies in Kansas as well as other regions such as the Ozarks, the Deep South, and the Ukraine. It is precisely because of its leadership in Appalachian Studies that Radford is known and respected by our members, and also why the University was selected as the site of our 1988 and 2005 conferences. The Appalachian Studies faculty members at Radford have had their work published in respected scholarly venues such as the University of Tennessee Press (Asbury, Cox, Edwards, Lanier), the University of Illinois Press (Straw), and Rutgers University Press (Wagner). The recently published Encyclopedia of Appalachia includes entries by Ricky Cox, JoAnn Aust Asbury, Gene Hyde, Parks Lanier, Jr., Grace Toney Edwards, and Richard Straw. Clearly, Radford University’s scholarly mission has been significantly advanced by the quality of the research and publications produced by faculty and staff affiliated with the Appalachian Regional Studies Center. There have been Appalachian Studies courses offered at Radford University for twenty-eight years now, begun at the request of public school teachers and community college faculty. The Appalachian Studies Minor is an undergraduate program of studies approved through your own faculty curriculum oversight process. In similar fashion, Radford’s faculty has approved the courses offered in the Graduate Certificate in Appalachian Studies curriculum. These programs align closely with the University’s academic mission, and are valued by the many Radford students who attend and present at our annual Appalachian Studies conferences. The Appalachian Regional Studies Center at Radford has also been a model for cultural and community service programming. The concerts, lectures, theatrical performances, and arts and crafts displays organized by the Appalachian Events Committee adds immeasurably to the cultural experience of students, faculty members, and community residents. The folk life and history of the New River Valley are preserved and shared by The Farm at Selu. The nationally-recognized Highland Summer Conference highlights the contribution of regional culture to American literature and poetry. The Appalachian Teacher’s Network, the Assembly on the Literature and Culture of Appalachia, and The Appalachian Arts and Studies in the Schools Program each encourages students to complete their high school education, and makes Radford University a natural choice for their college education. The Appalachian Teaching Project connects Radford University to a dozen other colleges and universities, as well as with the federal Appalachian Regional Commission. Each of these Appalachian Studies programs effectively furthers the University’s stated mission to promote culture and human services. The current efforts to diminish the role of Appalachian Studies at Radford University are undermining both your institution’s reputation and its mission to provide quality academic, cultural, human service and research programs. The study of Appalachia has long been an integral part of Radford’s curriculum as well as its mission. It brings regional, national, and international recognition to the University while serving the cultural interests of the community and the educational interests of your students. We encourage you not to undermine the structure of scholarship and programs that support Appalachian Studies at Radford University. We ask you as colleagues to value and support these important programs for the contribution they make to your institution, to Southwest Virginia, to the Appalachian region, and to the wider scholarly community. Sincerely,
Carol Baugh, Ph.D.
2008-2009 President of the Appalachian Studies Association
|
Contact ASA |