April 29, 2016

TO:
FROM:
RE:

Stephen Ruffus, Associate Dean, English Department

Brandon Alva
Merit Pay Application for 2015-2016

I am applying for merit pay because I feel the work I have done during the 2015-2016 academic year has exceeded
expectations. This year much of my work has focused on improving the student experience. Some of my activities benefit
students learning in the classroom, while others, like Folio, create a more enriching environment for students across the
college, and other endeavors will benefit future students by increasing my knowledge base and scholarship.
Teaching
ENGL 2010: I continue to develop my media-themed class. In response to student feedback, I have simplified the course to
focus exclusively on the political media. I have also placed greater emphasis on two important threshold concepts: First,
writing is a tool for thinking and second, critical thought and dialogue are crucial to meaningful participation in democracy.
The first half of the course is centered on presenting students with critical perspectives on the media, an analytical tool kit to
draw upon when consuming media. The critical perspectives on the media are designed to create a healthy epistemological
skepticisman aversion to simple answers to complex problems. The second half of the course focuses on how research,
critical evaluation, and synthesis can be used to reach informed and reasonable opinions on important issues, if not always
societal consensus. I have also made the class more collaborative and less lecture based
In connection with this course Im currently developing an English 1010 course which will focus on critically
reading advertising and entertainment (specifically film). I will be teaching the two courses, the advertising and entertainment
focused 1010 course and the political news media themed 2010 course, as a sequence.
ENGL 1900: I continue to emphasize multimodal composition in the Folio course this year in addition to the production of
the website and the magazine.
Another way that I am working to improve the student experience at SLCC is by volunteering to teach night classes.
A community college should offer Gen Ed and major course at a variety of times to accommodate a socioeconomically
diverse student body. Im proud to say that in my first five years as a full-time faculty member at SLCC I have taught eight
night classes, many of them the non-composition courses which are often not offered at night unless a member of the fulltime faculty is willing to teach at a later hour.
Professional Development
Continuing Education: Last summer I took a course at the University of Utah: Critical Theory of Popular Culture. The class
helped me increase my knowledge of the history of intellectual inquiry into popular culture as well as the strengths and
limitations of different critical approaches to popular culture. In the course I also began to draft two papers. The first is a
feminist critique of She-Hulk comics first published in the late 80s and early 90s.
CCHA National Conference: How Jacob Kurtzberg Became Jack Kirby. This presentation is based on an early draft of the
second paper I began writing in Critical Theory of Popular Culture. The paper looks at the Jewish identities of Golden Age
comic book authors and artists.
TYCA West: I participated in two presentations.
Negotiating the Great Divide: Place, Faith, and the Composition Classroom: This presentation was a collaboration with
Christie Toth from the University of Utah and Melody Pugh of the Air Force Academy. The presentation focused on the ways
we invite students who are religious and/or politically conservative to participate in the composition classroom. I discussed
my efforts to have more meaningful conversations with students across the political divide, using Jonathan Haidt as a starting
point for more open dialogue. I have seen an improvement in student engagement and attitude in class. Students are more
willing to consider perspectives different from their own.
Creative Writing is Composition: This presentation focused on the differences and similarities between creative writing
pedagogy and composition studies. I discussed preparing students to write within a distinct and relatively well-defined
discourse community. I collaborated with Lynn Kilpatrick, Lisa Bickmore and Kati Lewis for this presentation.
Service
Folio: I am the faculty advisor to Folio for the fourth year. Folio is transitioning from being an independent study to being a
dedicated course which focuses on the publication of both the print edition and the website of the magazine. I have complete
a CCO and example syllabus.
Creative Writing Course Committee Chair: The committee continues to identify qualified adjuncts to teach our diverse
array of course offerings. These opportunities not only serve our students but help the department build relationships with
adjuncts who are potential future full-time faculty.
Publication Center Committee: I gave a workshop on making video commentary on films. The presentation focused on
both the practical how-to of using both iMovie and Screen Cast-o-Matic and the types of compositions which can be created
with this software.