I just woke up this morning, checked email, and realized that I missed Anna Peterson’s farewell party yesterday (during workday sadly). And in that moment I realized how darned helpful she was during my entire experience in the Writing Division. (And let me tell you, some of the other divisions have been jealous of the insanely resourceful and on-top-of-it Anna and expressed the desire to steal her from us.) Well, she’s headed off to a new and outstanding gig at Graywolf Press, so in honor of this moment I will reprint here Ben Marcus’s letter from a few weeks ago alerting us to this changeover in the Writing Division office.
(I’m also thrilled to welcome Christine who I remember fondly from all the times I would go down to bug the visual arts division about classes and events in the Gallery — Panoply anyone? — back when the Writing Division were allowed to do stuff there.)
Ben’s letter
Dear Writing Division Community:
Please join me in welcoming Christine Rath, our new program manager. Many of you know Christine as the program manager for the Visual Arts Division of SOA, and, before that, as the assistant to Dean Bruce Ferguson. Christine has worked hard for the School of the Arts for many years, and she has intimate knowledge of its structural workings, as well as extensive experience working on behalf of graduate arts students. Christine has already started training closely with Anna, and will join us officially on May 17th.
The sad part of this message is that we say good-bye to Anna Peterson, who leaves us on Friday to return to her hometown of Minneapolis, for a terrific position as the Managing Director at Graywolf Press. Anna has been an exceptional colleague, a terrific asset for students and faculty alike, and the essential glue for the Writing Division (all of these are understatements). While it is difficult to think of our operations–and moods–not crashing to a halt without Anna, we’re very happy that she has found such a great job, and that her family can return to the bitter, cold, horrid mid- west. I can say that because I was born in Chicago, and really just because I am personally so sad to see her go. In my single year as Chair, and for former chairs Alan Ziegler and Richard Locke, Anna has been an amazing guide, filled with great strategies for keeping the program alive and healthy, and just generally an intelligent, sensitive, and thoughtful person with whom it’s been an absolute pleasure to work.
All best,
Ben Marcus
