KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY Puppetry Association Crowning Leaders Advocating Knowledge
Helen M. Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English Literature, Languages and Philosophy Hathaway Hall 414B Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 502-597-5015 (office) helen.smith@kysu.edu
11/2/16
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
As a tenured faculty member in the English Department, I am writing to recommend that Dr. Joe Moffett be granted tenure in the English Department at Kentucky State University. I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Moffett since the Fall of 2014, when he joined our department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. In the short time since then, Dr. Moffett has racked up a very impressive record of teaching, service and scholarship – the three criteria upon which the tenure decision is based.
As his student evaluations and faculty-peer observations show, Dr. Moffett is an effective and popular teacher of numerous courses, from the 100-level to the 400-level. The variety of courses he has taught at KSU and other institutions clearly indicates the wide range of his expertise and his comfort level with several areas of the undergraduate English curriculum: Modern American Literature, Postmodern American Literature, Literary Criticism, African American Literature, Composition, British Literature I and II, 17th-18th Century British Literature, Mythology, World Literature, Epics, Digital Poetics, Southern Literature, Literature and Film, Irish Literature, Methods of Literary Research. His ability and willingness to teach such a wide range of courses makes him a valuable, go-to faculty member when a course needs staffed. I think this range also indicates his intellectual curiosity and drive to master new literary fields – the best teachers are lifelong learners, excitedly exploring texts and concepts alongside their students.
Dr. Moffett's record of service to this institution is both remarkable in the time that he has been here and promising for the future. He has not only served on but also actively chaired both