Tarleton library hosts Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week brunch

Randall Popken Papers

Randall Popken Papers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 28, 2018

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University’s Dick Smith Library hosts “Readings & Sharing Collections: Creativity, Scholarship and Brunch” at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, to celebrate Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week.

In addition to a faculty member and several students reading from their own writings, the library will announce the opening of the Randall Popken Papers, 1959-2005.

Dr. Marilyn Robitaille, associate professor of English at Tarleton, will read selections from her recently published book, Not by Design: Fifty Poems and Images.The book is an anthology of her poetry and is illustrated with watercolor and collage images.

For 24 years, Robitaille has co-managed Tarleton’s student arts and literary magazine Anthology: A Student Forum for Prose, Poetry, and the Visual Arts. Her current research pertains to specialized London productions of 18th-century plays by women. She has chosen two student editors of the Anthology to share their writings.

Dr. Kathleen Mollick, professor of English, will begin the opening of the Randall Popken Papers by relating her experiences working with Dr. Popken during his tenure at Tarleton.

Popken taught English and writing at Tarleton for 20 years. After his death in 2005, his wife donated his papers to the Dick Smith Library Special Collections and Archives.

Popken crafted many articles and book chapters relating to discourse analysis, genre acquisition, and technical aspects of writing. He also presented many papers on the same topics to national, regional, state and local professional conferences.

Part of his research consisted of analyzing writing samples of his students and evaluating the Tarleton Freshman Writer Project. The collection contains his findings, which he presented at professional conferences and described in articles published in academic literature.

While working on his doctorate at the University of Kansas, Popken became interested in Edwin Hopkins, a professor of composition at the university in the late 1800s. The collection includes the extensive research he conducted on Hopkins’ teaching and writings.

The brunch takes place in the Multi-Purpose Room in the library. For more information, contact Amy Castillo at [email protected] or 254-968-9868.

Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.

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Contact: Phil Riddle, News & Information Specialist
817-484-4415
[email protected]

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.
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