1 Curriculum Vitae LaVerne Summerlin Title: Address: Professor of English 8772 Zodiac Drive Cinti, Oh 45231 Telephone: (513) 638-5492 (513) 556-0709 Email laverne.summerlin@uc.edu Education Xavier University M.Ed. English as field of Concentration Honors Graduate Fellowship Edgecliff College B.A. Honors Major: English Minors: Philosophy, Spanish, Secondary Education Honors: Kappa Gamma Pi-Honors Sorority Professional Work Experience Present-1970 University of Cincinnati Arts and Sciences Department English/Comparative/Literature University College Department of Language Arts Center for Access and Transition Department of Humanities, Media/ Cultural Studies 2005-1980 Business Writing Consultant
2 2. Selected Awards Dolly Cohen Award for Teaching Excellence Hilmar Krueger Full Time Teaching Award Dean s Award-Outstanding Service Learning Faculty National ACT Continuing Education Award for Creation of Oral Communication for the World-of-Work Private Industry Council Award for Outstanding Business Communication Program Foundations for Learning Master Teachers Program Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women s Clubs Grace Slade Award Private Industry Council s National Finalist for Creation for Outstanding Business Communications Program Invited as a Master Teacher to College Board s Meeting to Prepare The Writing Component for Standardized Tests Charles and Mae Westheimer Staff Development Grant for Middle School Language Arts Teachers Xavier University s Edgecliff College Sullivan Award for Outstanding Community and Professional Service University of Cincinnati Black Achiever s Award Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Award for Community Service Student Affairs Award for Outstanding Contributions to Black Students RAID Grant from University of Cincinnati Travel Grant Bibliographical Instruction Colloquium at The Ohio State University Kappa Gamma Pi Catholic Colleges Honors Sorority Selected Grants Received through Collaborative Efforts with Regional Public School Systems and Universities Urban Initiatives Language Education Program for Teachers and Students K-University Charles and May Westheimer Grant for CPS Language Education Articulation Program Queen City Vocational School Language Development Program Oral Communications Programs for K-University Students Holistic Language Education Programs for K-12 Students
3 3. Professional Development Contributing Editor. Editor. **Project Director. **Project Director. **Project Director. Foundations for Learning I, II, III, IV Editions One and Two Destined for Glory by Bishop Bobby Hilton Urban Initiatives Language Education Program Oral Communications for World-of-Work Language as Access to the World-of Work Selected Business Writing Consulting Administrative and Clerical Staff of Federated Department Stores Administrators of Jewish Hospital Middle Managers and Entry Level of Black Career Women Inc. Middle Management Engineers of Environmental Protection Agency National Administrators of Phoenix Association of US Postal Services Cincinnati Public Schools Teachers Staff Development Mayerson Academy Staff Development Contract Compliance Office of City of Cincinnati Selected Conference Presentations My presentations at these conferences were related to my three major research interests: designing curriculum which prepares students for world-of-work speaking and writing situations: 1. using the contrastive analysis approach to developing the language skills of African American students with dialectal features in their speech and writing patterns by studying successful African American wordsmiths who have mastered the art of code switching from standard to dialect in their works, 2. using an integrated holistic approach to developing language skills, and 3. designing curriculum which prepares students for world-of-work speaking and writing situations. International Reading Association National Council of Teachers of English Council on College Composition and Communication Ohio Council of English and Language Arts Southwestern Ohio Council of English Writers Consortium at Miami University in Oxford Ohio Writers Project
4 Association of Supervision and Curriculum Selected Community Service District Chairperson. Xavier University s Edgecliff College Fund Chair. North Central Accreditation Team for Media Center Review Western Hills Senior High School Member. Board of Directors. Great Rivers Girl Scout Council Member. Ohio Board of Regents Testing Consortium Committee to Study the Feasibility of The Writing Component of the Proficiency Testing Assistant Director. Great Rivers Girl Scout Council Summer International Leadership Camp Member. Advisory Committee. Adult Basic Education for Cincinnati Public Schools Service Learning Coordinator. Seven Hills Neighborhood House Writing Workshop Developer/Leader Black Career Women Inc. Leadership Training Classes for At Risk Youth Community Action Commission Teachers Leadership Training Classes Ohio Industrialization Language Education Workshops for At Risk Youth Links Incorporated Reading and Writing Program for Inner City Youth Holistic Language Arts Workshops for teachers and administrators of Mt. Healthy City Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools, and Dayton Public Schools Cincinnati Public Schools Special Needs for Disadvantaged Youth Holistic Language Arts workshops for Mt. Healthy City Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools, Dayton Public Schools Guest Speaker to numerous student bodies and faculty groups in public and private schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. Private tutor African American entry level, middle management, and executive level professionals at a number of regional institutions. African American students from Mt. St. Joseph and Xavier University University of Cincinnati African American students not enrolled in my classes. These include students working on their associates, bachelors, masters and doctorates. They were enrolled in the following colleges: Law, Business, Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Ohio Applied Sciences, Education, and Design Art, Architecture; and the Department of Athletics, the Educational Development Program and Upward Bound
5 Selected University Service Departmental Diversity Committee Faculty Advisor for You See Potential of the College of Business Mentor Brandon Reynolds of College of Business Review of Provost of Student Affairs Chaired and served on many Peer Review Committees Numerous Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committees Numerous Advisory Committees Numerous Search Committees A.B. Dolly Cohen Teaching Excellence Committee College of Education Reading and Teaching Disadvantaged Students Committee Committee to Interview Prospective Language Arts Peer Tutors Committee to Address the Concerns of Black Students College of Education s Advisory Committee for its Center on Research and Learning College of Engineering Emerging Ethnic Engineers English Culture, Confidence, Competence and Communications course Committee to Establish a Working Relationship between the English Faculty of the University College and the Educational Development Program Committee on Introductory English. Freshman Composition I, II, and III Intermediate Composition 2089 Family in American Literature Legal Assisting (Team Taught) Courses Taught
6 Addendum Project Director Co-cordinator. Urban Initiatives Program K-University Language Arts Teachers. This program was co-sponsored by funding from the Ohio Board of Regents, the Ohio State University, Central State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Cincinnati Public Schools, and UC s University College. It has been characterized by the Cincinnati Public Schools officials as a model of university and K-12 collaboration. For it was based on mutual respect for the skills master teachers from each institution brought to the table. It also created jobs for the university professors, and professional development for the K-12 teachers from the area public schools. As co-coordinator, I helped conceptualize, design, and offer two Summer Institutes on African American and Appalachian Literature for 135 K-12 Language Arts Teachers, 8 workshops on The Role of Whole Language in The Writing Process, and 3 seminars on Reading and Writing Across-the-Curriculum. In addition, I was a co-facilitator of three Lead Teacher Seminars. Urban Initiatives also sponsored language education programs which brought over 1,000 K-12 students to the campus for an Urban Initiatives Language Conference. This conference was divided into the Young Authors Workshops for 7-12 student writers and the General Sessions. The Young Authors Workshops were conducted by University of Cincinnati published authors in Poetry, Short Stories, Journalism and Story Telling. There were also Leadership Training, Persuasive Speaking and Future Educators workshops, For the general sessions, we brought in nationally prominent African American and Appalachian writers to a full house at Great Hall. Finally, there were 3600 students enrolled in Urban Initiatives teachers classes, classes which were focused on the holistic approach to teaching language arts with particular emphasis on integrating African American and Appalachian wordsmiths. The information shared as a consequence of the University of Cincinnati s Urban Initiatives successful collaboration with the Cincinnati Public Schools was, according to assistant superintendent Kathleen Ware, crucial in the redesign of the school system s Graded Course of Study curriculum. One that is based on the whole language approach to teaching English. Oral Communication for the World of Work for Queen City Vocational Adult Basic Education Program Project Director. Oral Communication for the World-of Work was co-sponsored by the University of Cincinnati s College of Evening, Procter and Gamble, the Private Industry Council, the City of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Public Schools. As Project Director, I conducted an assessment of the communications needs of the adult students at Queen City Adult Vocational Education Center and the Citizens Committee on Youth, designed and developed curriculum materials, and trained two University of Cincinnati Communications graduate students to teach the classes. This program was needed because of the need of the students to improve their oral communication skills. For those who were placed in the class were Appalachian and African American students who were
7 speaking community dialect during their interviews. The feedback from the interviewers is that these African American and Appalachian student were not being hired because of the presence of the community dialect. In developing the curriculum for this program, I had decided to contact Dr. Geneva Smitherman, the socio-linguist who had taught me so much of the importance of using the contrastive approach to dealing with these issues. As a consequence, she helped me develop lessons which showed respect for the students home language as a basis for devising strategies for them to switch to Standard Language. The final exam for this class was a taped interview conducted by representatives from Procter and Gamble and General Electric Aeronautical Plant. After taking the class, all of the students passed, and were hired. Language Education Program for Faculty at Clark Academy, Bloom Junior High, and Porter Junior High As project director of this program, I introduced the faculty to the Foundations for Learning textbooks which incorporated culture specific material with detailed lessons of how teach African American and Appalachian studentsoral communication skills, writing as process, reading as process, and reading and writing across the curriculum.