People to Know

The department is led by a committee: the Department Executive Committee (referred to as the DEC). The committee includes full-time faculty members and the department’s business manager. Generally, faculty DEC members serve three-year terms that are often renewed for another three years.

Deborah Dean

Department Chair
Manages and oversees the department and faculty scholarship and represents the department at the university level

Dawan Coombs

Associate Chair
Manages and oversees faculty hiring, faculty awards, and undergraduate programs

Dennis Cutchins

Associate Chair
Manages and oversees undergraduate curriculum, continuing education, and assessment

Mary Eyring

Associate Chair
Manages and oversees the graduate program, adjunct faculty relations, and communication 

Heather Hammond

English Finance Operations Manager
Manages and oversees human resources (hiring and contracts), budget, curriculum (with DEC associate chair), and course scheduling

What makes the department work is its staff who help faculty succeed inside and outside the classroom, from creating job postings and finalizing contracts to assigning classrooms and making sure our offices have what we need.

Heather Hammond

English Finance Operations Manager
Manages and oversees human resources (hiring and contracts), budget, curriculum (with DEC associate chair), and course scheduling

Juli Todd

Office Manager
Manages and oversees office assignments and access, BYU email accounts, and facility concerns; makes room reservations for events; handles book and supplies requests

Department Support Staff

Manage copy requests and mail and library book delivery to the JFSB and JKB mailboxes

Most adjunct faculty teach first-year and advanced writing classes, which fall under University Writing (UW), a small-but-big part of the department. UW’s leadership assigns course instructors and ensures that adjunct faculty are trained and current on the best ways to teach and respond to writing.

Amy Williams

Coordinator
Oversees and manages all writing instruction in WRTG courses, hires and oversees the training of WRTG faculty, participates in the GE Council and Advanced Writing and Oral Communication committee for the university

Meridith Reed

Associate Coordinator
Oversees and manages Advanced Writing (AW) courses and the training of AW instructors, participates on the Advanced Writing and Oral Communication committee for the university

Jen Lindsey

UW Assistant
Oversees WRTG adjunct faculty contracts, helps resolve classroom and student registration challenges

Brian Jackson

Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator
Oversees and manages this university-wide program that supports all BYU faculty who teach writing

A course coordinator’s job is to help you succeed in the classroom: they review your syllabus each fall and winter semester; hold training sessions; observe new instructors during their first semester of teaching; and, most importantly, are your go-to person when you have questions or concerns about a course or students or need teaching help.

Shannon Stimpson

WRTG 150: Writing and Rhetoric

Tyler Gardner

WRTG 311: Writing about the Arts and Humanities

David Stock

WRTG 312: Persuasive Writing

Amber Jensen

WRTG 313: Advanced Writing for Educators

Jill Larsen

WRTG 315: Writing in the Social Sciences

Samuel Dunn

WRTG 316: Technical Communication

Lance Larsen

ENGL 218: Introduction to Creative Writing

Brian Jackson

ENGL 302: Writing with Style

Keith Lawrence

ENGL general education courses—the coursed below may be taught by adjunct faculty if a full-time faculty member isn’t available.

• ENGL 201: Masterpieces of World Literature 1
• ENGL 202: Masterpieces of World Literature 2
• ENGL 211: Rhetoric and Civilization 1
• ENGL 212: Rhetoric and Civilization 2
• ENGL 230: Studies in Literature
• ENGL 232: Shakespeare
• ENGL 235: Studies in American Literature
• ENGL 236: Studies in British Literature
• ENGL 238: The Bible as Literature
• ENGL 268: Literature of the Latter-day Saints

The adjunct faculty liaison helps fellow adjunct faculty find information, plans trainings and workshops in coordination with the department and/or UW, and regularly meets with a DEC member to discuss adjunct faculty’s needs and concerns.

Kelsey Smith

Adjunct Faculty Liaison

Because UW is housed under the department and some adjunct faculty teach both WRTG and ENGL classes, it’s sometimes confusing to know who to contact about what. Here’s a guide to help you direct your emails and phone calls to the right place:

Email the University Writing Team if you need help with:

• Any class beginning with WRTG—curriculum, materials, textbooks, student concerns
• WRTG course teaching schedule
• WRTG course training
• Adjunct Faculty Performance Review
• UW policies (like attendance and Zoom)
• Classroom concerns
• Teaching contracts

Email the English Department Team if you need help with

• Any class beginning with ENGL—curriculum, materials, textbooks, student concerns
• ENGL course teaching schedule
• ENGL course training
• Job applications and the clearance process
• Contract or pay-rate questions
• New employee department orientation
• Office assignments and office key access
• Facility or maintenance concerns
• BYU email account
• Office supplies
• Mail
• Library checkout/return
• Copies or copier problems

If you have any computer, copier, or printing questions or problems, contact the Office of Digital Humanities Computer Support Team during regular business hours: 801-422-2600 or humhelp@byu.edu.

If you need accommodations for a disability or illness, please contact BYU’s Office of Faculty Relations (avp.byu.edu/fac-relations).

You can also email the adjunct faculty liaison with any questions or concerns you have.

The Research and Writing Center (RWC), located at 3340 HBLL, has trained research and writing consultants ready to help students and faculty with any part of the writing process. It’s managed by a team that offers great support to any faculty member who teaches writing.

Tyler Gardner

Research and Writing Center Director

Katie Watkins

Coordinator, Multilingual Writing

Zach Largey

Coordinator, Course-based Writing

The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) is one of BYU’s best resources for improving student learning inside your classroom, from helping you create formal and informal assessments to using technology effectively.

But CTL’s best resource is its Teaching & Learning consultants who can be your personal teaching coach, help you problem-solve, identify ways to improve your student ratings, or achieve a professional goal. Don’t hesitate to make an appointment for a conversation with our department’s designated consultant.

Julie Swallow

Teaching & Learning Consultant for Humanities, Religious Education, and Undergraduate Education

Your consultant can also help you take advantage of the CTL’s Students Consulting on Teaching (SCOT) Program. The SCOT Program consists of FERPA-trained student-employees who can assess your syllabus, video your class, and observe what’s happening in your classroom to give you impartial feedback on your teaching style and classroom management.

SCOT Program student-employees can also review your student ratings, remove any offensive comments, and identify patterns in students’ comments. When they finish their assessment, you can meet with your CTL consultant to discuss what students had to say overall and what you might choose to keep doing or change.

Learning Suite, the LMS used by 70% of BYU’s faculty, has lots of useful features! To learn how to set up your class’s Learning Suite page and explore what Learning Suite has to offer, check out Learning Suite Instructor Help (softwaresupport.byu.edu/learning-suite/instructor). Also, every August the CTL hosts an online meeting to introduce and review Learning Suite’s newest features and updates.

If you have any questions or need help with Learning Suite, call or text BYU IT: 801-422-4000. You can also chat (support.byu.edu) or email (it@byu.edu). BYU IT support is open M–F, 6am-10pm (closed for devotionals) and Saturday, 9am-6pm.

An important part of writing is research, and helping students know what the library has to offer and how to access its many resources is an important part of our job.

Every WRTG 150 class is invited to the library for a 2- or 3-day visit to learn about the library and how to find information. Advanced writing courses are also invited to the library for research and information literacy instruction. WRTG 316 students attend library workshops outside of class. All other advanced writing courses are invited to attend one library session as a class.

If you teach WRTG 150 or an advanced writing class, watch for an email from the library before the start of each semester with instructions on how to schedule your visits. Please attend library sessions with your class.

If you have questions about how the library can help you and your class, contact the writing programs supervisor.

Toni Pilcher

Writing Programs Supervisor

There’s also help for adjunct faculty. Our department’s librarian can answer your questions about HBLL and its offerings, help you develop a research project, and perhaps even order books on your wishlist to add to BYU’s stacks.

Robert Means

English Language, Literature, American Sign Language, and TESOL Senior Librarian

As part of the HBLL, the staff at Course Reserve can put class materials—eBooks, book chapters, articles, DVDs, and other media items—on your learning management system so students can easily access them for free. Please use Course Reserve to ensure your materials are compliant with copyright law. You can learn more about Course Reserve and how to use it by visiting its website: coursereserve.lib.byu.edu.

Need help using Learning Suite or Canvas, setting up DUO, downloading software? Call or text BYU IT: 801-422-4000. You can also chat (support.byu.edu) or email (it@byu.edu). BYU IT support is open M–F, 6–10 pm (closed for devotionals) and Saturday, 9–6 pm.

Need help with your office computer or printing? Call or email the Office of Digital Humanities Computer Support Team: 801-422-2600 or humhelp@byu.edu.