English undergrad chair New wins respect for teaching, scholarship

The popular English professor and undergraduate chairperson is being considered for a full professorship. Entering her 10th year at the University, Lisa New has not let her busy schedule as English Undergraduate Chairperson and mother of three keep her from becoming a respected scholar in the field of American Literature. New has gained a tremendous amount of respect across the University for her teaching and scholarship and is currently being considered for a full professorship. The English Department will vote on whether to support New's candidacy, which will then be evaluated by the University's Personnel Committee. A graduate of Brandeis and Columbia universities, New came to Penn in 1988, receiving tenure in 1994. Since then, she has taught all of the department's standard Early American courses -- everything from required classes for the major program to more specialized courses focusing on the literature of the Puritans. Her favorite subject, however, is American poetry, which has provided material for two of her books and numerous essays. Both New's teaching and her scholarship received praise from other members of the department. "Her innovative scholarship has made her a rising star among the nation's experts in American literature," said English Department Chairperson Wendy Steiner. "And her courses are much valued by our students." When she is not in the classroom, New spends most of her time advising and coordinating classes and programs for the largest undergraduate major in the College of Arts and Sciences. Although New describes the hectic nature of her combined work and personal life as "ridiculous," she emphasizes the rewards. "I like being undergrad chair," she noted. "I've learned a great deal about how the University works. It's nice, mid-career, to discover a new aspect of your intellect." Indeed, New's stint as undergraduate chairperson has won praise from many of her fellow colleagues. "She's an immensely productive scholar, a superb teacher who respects her students and elicits their respect in turn," English Professor Peter Conn said. "[New is] also a gifted and tireless administrator who has brought innovation and reform to the undergraduate major program." New emphasized the strong connection that exists between students and her own scholarship. "I find the classroom a very engaging place to be," she said. "Penn students are smart -- they teach me things. I write books about what goes on in class. You come in with certain ideas and they change in discussion with students. Your mind changes and you get new ideas, [then] you write them down and you thank your students." New stressed that she finds Penn students to be especially engaging and receptive to new ideas, adding that undergraduates are especially "feisty." "Any student who comes to Penn wants to be in a big city and hasn't chosen a more enclosed and separated environment -- they want to be a part of the world," she explained. "I love that Penn students, regardless of what they're going to do with the rest of their lives, commit themselves to being intellectuals while they're here. [They possess] a genuine spirit of inquiry -- it doesn't matter what the subject is." New's students said they are both inspired and challenged by her subject manner and style of teaching. "She does an excellent job of encouraging us to really think about each poem we discuss and share our interpretations with each other," said College sophomore Dana Wagner, who is in New's American Poetry class. "I've probably done more thinking in this class than in any other I've taken at Penn." New describes her style of teaching as a mixture of both lecture and collective inquiry. Although she values active participation, New believes that students need to be given a frame of referential information. "I feed them stuff and then I question them," said New. "I like to keep them off balance. I ask questions that produce silence. I try to make students think."