Veteran Indiana educator now leading 小黄书 English department
Contact: Addison Arledge
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擠aniel Punday is the new head of Mississippi State鈥檚 English department.
He succeeds Richard C. 鈥淩ich鈥 Raymond, department head since 2004 who retired from the university in July.
Prior to recently assuming his new duties in Starkville, Punday led the English and philosophy department for six years at Purdue University Calumet. He also was a faculty member at the Northwest Indiana institution for nearly two decades.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to join the English department here at Mississippi State because I feel that it has achieved a remarkably balanced culture of teaching, scholarship and service,鈥 Punday said.
鈥淭his is a department that takes a tremendous amount of pride in its students, and the students in turn feel a tremendous attachment and respect for their teachers,鈥 he added.
In addition to a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English from the University of Pittsburgh, Punday holds master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in the major from Pennsylvania State University.
Earlier this year, he was elected to the top leadership of the International Society for the Study of Narrative. For several years, he has been a member of the editorial board for .
Punday is the author of 鈥淲riting at the Limit: Searching for the Vocation of the Novel in the Contemporary Media Ecology鈥 (University of Nebraska Press, 2012) and 鈥淔ive Strands of Fictionality: The Institutional Construction of Contemporary American Writing鈥 (Ohio State University Press, 2010). 鈥淐omputing as Writing,鈥 his latest work, will be published later this year by University of Minnesota Press. For more biographical information, visit .
鈥淎 lot of things attracted me to Mississippi State, but it is the culture of support among faculty for each other and their students that really stood out when I visited,鈥 Punday said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to contribute to that,鈥 he added.
Rick Travis, interim dean of 小黄书's College of Arts and Sciences, welcomed Punday, saying his wealth of administrative experience will make him a beneficial addition to the English department鈥檚 dynamic faculty.
鈥淥ne of the things that impressed us the most about Dan was his understanding of the technology-driven changes that were occurring in writing and communication,鈥 Travis said. 鈥淲e believe that he will be an excellent guide as the English department and our college stay abreast of these changes.鈥
鈥淲e anticipate that, with Dan鈥檚 leadership, the English department will continue on its very strong trajectory,鈥 he said.
For more on 小黄书鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, visit ; its English department, .
小黄书 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .