Contact: Jack Bailey (304) 766-4109 Jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Dr. Robert M. Wallace has been named dean of the West Virginia State University (WVSU) College of Arts and Humanities.
Wallace had been serving as interim dean of the college since 2016.
Since coming to WVSU in the fall of 2004, Wallace has served the University in many ways, as a professor of English, as the chair of the English Department, and as interim dean. He has also served on several standing committees of the Faculty Senate.
Wallace has published academic articles in English Education, English Leadership Quarterly, and other places, and he has presented at national conferences, specifically on what motivates young people to read and write, as well as on how to respond to student writing. He has also published poems and stories in many regional and national journals. Recently, some of his poems were translated into Spanish and published in Encuentros at La Universidad Autonoma Del Caribe. A full collection of his poetry, “Hawk on a Power Line,” was published by Louisiana Literature Press in 2015.
Some awards and honors received by Wallace include an Academy of American Poets Prize; a West Virginia Humanities Council grant; the nomination of his poem “Bunting” in 2016 for a Pushcart Prize; a nomination for Developmental Instructor of the Year by the West Virginia Association for Development Education in 2015; and the Retention Connection Award by WVSU in 2014.
Wallace earned his doctorate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English literature from Pfeiffer College.
In addition to his duties at WVSU, Wallace serves on the Board of Directors for the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia.
Wallace resides in Charleston, W.Va., with his wife, Cathy. The couple has two daughters, Rachel and Claire.
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