HISTORY

During the 1987-1988 academic year, A.D. Van Nostrand, then chair of Georgia Tech`s English Department, began the process of reinventing writing and technical communication at Georgia Tech. Prior to this date, the English Department had hired advanced graduate students who had reached ABD status--that is, all but dissertation, to teach freshman English composition courses. These graduate students served as adjunct faculty members who filled the need that existed within Georgia Tech`s English Department while gaining important teaching experience. Although this was common practice across disciplines during this period, Dr. Nostrand recognized that due to the transient nature of these appointments, adjunct faculty members were not the best resources for students. Instead he envisioned a program that would embed writing into the intellectual identity of students for the rest of their lives. Nostrand recognized the need for more uniformity between composition courses and mandated adjunct faculty attendance at professional development seminars.

In 1987, Elizabeth Evans became the first Director of The Marion L. Brittain Fellowship, named for the third President of Georgia Institute of Technology. Under her direction, the postdoctoral fellowship program garnered collective recognition for the ABD and postdoctoral fellows while providing the writing program with better accountability and more structure. At this time Brittain Fellows also received full-time appointments with benefits. Most fellows were hired for a period of three quarters with the possibility of working during the summer as well, which created better continuity within the program. Two years later, in 1989, Dr. Greg Colomb received a regular faculty appointment to direct the Writing Program at Georgia Tech with responsibility for the further development of the Brittain Fellowship Program.

Since the inaugural year of the Brittain Fellowship, many changes have taken place within this department and within Georgia Tech. In 1991, the English Department at Georgia Tech matured into the School of Literature, Communication and Culture (LCC). Although LCC`s main responsibility to the institution remains the introductory English composition classes (English 1101 and English 1102) and LCC 3401 Technical Communication, the school has expanded its scope by offering Bachelor of Science degrees in Computational Media and Science, Technology and Culture. With these programs has come the development of upper-division LCC courses. LCC also offers an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Digital Media. With more senior faculty focused on such upper-level courses, the number of Brittain Fellows hired each year has and the length of the fellowship contract has extended.

Today, Brittain Fellows serve for between one and three academic years on a semester rather than quarterly schedule. For the most part, Fellows teach English 1101 and 1102, but they may also teach some higher-level LCC courses, especially during summer sessions. In addition, Brittain Fellows teach LCC 3401, a course in technical communication that is a signature of the Writing and Communication Program. LCC 3401 represents an even greater evolution that has occurred within the department. In 1990, Dr. Charles Bazerman was hired in a tenure-track faculty appointment as Director of the Writing Program. His expertise brought a shift toward emphasis on technical communication within the LCC. Dr. Wendy Newstetter, Dr. Carol Senf, and Dr. Blake Leland followed Bazerman as Coordinators of the Brittain Fellowship. Then in 2000, Jay Bolter became the Brittain Fellowship Program Coordinator and Director of the Writing Program. His appointment symbolized the union of computer technology and communication, and the introduction of electronic pedagogy.

Most recently, in 2007, LCC brought aboard Dr. Rebecca Burnett as Director of the Writing and Communication Program at Georgia Tech. As a champion of communication across the curriculum as wll as technical communication, Burnett is the best expression of the evolution of writing and communication at Georgia Tech as well as that of The Marion L. Brittain Fellowship. Under Burnett`s leadership and change agent role, the Writing and Communication Program is spreading a culture of communication across Georgia Tech. A key component in those efforts is the Brittain Fellowship, always led by a dynamic coordinator. Over the past ten years, experienced Brittain Fellows have covered this position. Currently, Dr. Andrew Cooper serves as full-time coordinator of the fellowship program.

The history of the Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellowship reflects the evolution of American academia. While the fellowship started out as a way to address a range of needs within the institution, it has developed into a prominent center for research in the evolving forms of writing and communication both within the institution and nationally. In the spring of 2008, the program gained support and recognition when the NORTC building was named the home for Georgia Tech`s Writing and Communication Program. The new building will soon host the Writing and Communication Program.