English Department
At Convocation on Sept. 2, 2025, Professor Bunkong Tuon was awarded 2025 Stillman Faculty Excellence in Research award. See the news item at this link.
Both students and faculty are racking up publications.
Students
Patrick Mulready '25 placed a story from his honors thesis collection, "The Work Capacity of Young Adults" in Short Vine Literary Journal (U Cincinnati), Spring 2025, pp. 27-33. Patrick developed his short-story collection under the tutelage of special field reader BK Tuon in EGL 402-403, Honors Thesis Seminar, led in F24-W25 by Judith Lewin.
Naomi Nayor '28 has a poem entitled "-9" in Oakland Arts Review (Oakland University, MI), Spring 2025, p. 29. Her poem was drafted during her first term at Union in the EGL 110: The Poetic Process workshop with Jordan Smith.
Benjamin Stern '26, OT major/creative writing minor, took ATH-320 Playwriting in winter 2024 with visitor professer Dr. Cheryl Black. In it, he wrote an original one-act play, "The Trees Have Names Too," inspired by Irish playwright Mary Devenport O'Neill. Stern won the Judith Barlow Prize, "a student award given annually for an original one-act play that has been inspired by the work of a historic woman playwright" from HISTORY MATTERS: Celebrating Women's Plays of the Past. To be eligible, students must take or have taken a course covering a play written by a woman before 1960. Stern credits Professor Black without whom "this project would have never come to pass ...[She] not only introduced me to the award, but encouraged me" to compete. The first-place student winner receives a $1000 award and a reading of their play either in New York City or virtually.
Faculty
Professor Jordan Smith published an essay called "These Days" in Vox Populi in the August 8, 2025 online issue. In the September 2025 issue of Live Encounters, Smith has two poems: "No Expectations" and "The Great Uncertainty." Poems published earlier in 2025 that have yet to be linked include:"Jordan Smith: Two Poems" in Cultural Daily, Jan. 31, 2025. "The Amateur of Consciousness" and "Trillium."
Professor Bunkong Tuon published "What the War Has Taught Us," in Rattle.com on June 29, 2025. Poems published earlier in 2025 that have yet to be linked include: "Praying While Driving Alone," Bending Genres 43, Feb. 11, 2025. “Wanting Kids,” reprinted (online) in Verse Daily on Mar. 2, 2025. "My Ancestors Didn't Scream" with audio) Shō Poetry Journal no. 6.
Professor Andrew Burkett, professor of English and co-director of the Templeton Institute, along with Union faculty members Carolyn M. Rodak, Luke Dosiek, Christine Henseler, Christopher Chandler, Sohini Chattopadhyay and Nick Webb, recently published "Complementary and Contrasting Perspectives: Collaborative Teaching across Engineering, Computer Science, and the Liberal Arts" as part of the 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition.
Looking forward to more news from you!
