Donald Wolff
Eastern Oregon University
Donald Wolff at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Photo by Janet Maulhardt.
Prof. Donald Wolff
Chair, Division of Arts and Letters
English/Writing Program
Director, Oregon Writing Project at Eastern
Loso Hall, La Grande, OR 97850
(541) 962-3527
dwolff@eou.edu
Position Description: I am a member of the English/Writing Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, now serving as Chair for the Division of Arts and Letters. In partnership with Prof. Nancy Knowles, I direct the Oregon Writing Project at Eastern, which is supported by the English/Writing Program, funded in part by EOU Summer Session, and housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. I also work closely with the MTE program, housed in the College of Education. For over 25 years, I have been associated with the National Writing Project, in addition to teaching Language Arts methods courses, applied linguistics, imaginative writing, and composition. I advise English Education majors in the Discourse Studies Concentration and teach applied linguistics to all elementary Education and English Education majors, both on-campus and online. Until recently, I taught the Language Arts methods courses online to both undergraduates and graduates. I have published creative work in The Montserrat Review, Calapooya, Ronde House Anthology, White Pelican, the High Desert Journal, Oregon East and The Watershed Anthology. My poetry chapbook, Some Days, was published in spring 2004 by Brandenburg Press, Christopher Buckley and Gary Young, publishers. In May 2004, I was a resident writer at Fishtrap. A collection of poetry, Soon Enough, was published by Wordcraft in 2007 I am currently completing a second poetry collection, entitled What's Close to Me. My scholarly publications include articles on asynchronous computer conferencing, outcomes assessment, the uses of literature, and Henry James. I am a fromer member of the Site Council of La Grande High School and Central Elementary. My wife, Prof. Susan Whitelock, directs the The Writing Lab here at EOU. My son, Dylan, matriculated at Oregon State University, and my daughter, Hannah, is currently a senior at La Grande High School.
Areas of Specialization: applied linguistics, writing assessment, imaginative writing (poetry, prose poems, creative nonfiction), American literature, ESL, outreach through the Oregon Writing Project, and Writing Across the Curriculum.
Personal Interests: Reading, Writing, Jazz, Blues, Zen, Basketball, Soccer, Biking, Cross-Country Skiing, Tent Camping..
Oregon Writing Project: Since 1991, over 200 teachers have attended the Oregon Writing Project at Eastern (OWP) Summer Writing Institute, with several hundred involved in continuity programs. In addition, hundreds of eastern Oregon teachers have participated in informal and formal inservice programs. Over 2,500 students have attended the annual Student Writers Workshop, many of them setting foot on a college campus for the first time, coming from regional schools located anywhere from the Columbia River to Idaho and from Enterprise to Monument and all points between. Over the last fifteen years, OWP at Eastern has been able to match over $370,000 in federal support from the National Writing Project for a total of over $1,000,000! Over 90% of the federal funds have gone directly to K-16 teachers throughout our region to support their efforts to teach reading and writing more effectively and to aid their professional development. Last year, OWP clocked over 6,000 contact hours with students and teachers throughout the region.
Recent Projects
2009 Faculty Scholars Report:
What's Close to Me--A Booklength Poetry Collection
Soon Enough Press Release
(click on cover)
2005 Faculty Scholars Report:
Distractions--A Booklength Manuscript of Creative Nonficition
2004 Faculty Scholars Report:
Ars Vita — A Booklength Poetry Manuscript
2004 Sabbatical Report:
Eastern Oregon University
2010