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English Connects Teachers Across the State
Dr. Janice Neuleib workshops
with participants at
the IATE Conference
The Illinois Association of Teachers of English (IATE), the oldest organization of English educators in the United States, was honored at this year’s National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference with the NCTE Affiliate Membership Award for Largest Percentage of Growth in a State, Provincial, or Regional Affiliate. It is not surprising that IATE is housed in ISU’s Department of English, given that ISU has been associated with teacher education since its inception. "ISU's receipt of this award is testimony to our ongoing commitment to teachers across the state," said Associate Dean Jonathan Rosenthal.

 

IATE was formed at the University of Illinois in 1907 by a group of English professors and high school teachers who felt that communication among their ranks was extremely important. In 1990, Professor Janice Neuleib, Director of the Writing Program at ISU, became president and began such initiatives as the Minority Student Scholarship Award, moving the organization toward a more diverse field of attention. In 2000, IATE moved to ISU. “It was difficult for IATE to leave its near century-long home at the UI-UC,” Neuleib explains, “but the Executive Board saw clearly that ISU valued close connections with teachers in the state and that the IATE journal, the Illinois English Bulletin, would be valued more highly at ISU than it had been recently at UI-UC. No transition is easy, but this one has been ideal for IATE and for ISU.”

Currently composed of nearly 1,500 English and Language Arts teachers throughout the state, IATE provides a working network for the exchange of teaching tips, current research, and professional development as well as enduring friendships.  

The organization publishes The Illinois English Bulletin, a scholarly journal focused on English pedagogy and the oldest English journal in the United States, and the IATE Newsletter, which contains news about the organization and the profession. It also hosts an annual fall conference on the teaching of English for teachers of all levels of students.

ISU English faculty continue to serve as leaders in the organization. Neulieb serves as Executive Secretary. Claire Lamonica, Assistant Director of the Writing Program, chaired the October 2004 conference; she will become president in 2006. Former Associate Professor Ken Lindblom and Lamonica (2000-2002) and Professor Ron Fortune and Neuleib (2002-2004) have co-edited The Illinois English Bulletin. Associate Professor Bob Broad, who has been the IATE Newsletter editor, is slated to become the Bulletin editor, and Lamonica will become Newsletter editor.  

The award was presented to the organization at the NCTE conference in Indianapolis on November 20.
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