1991
In the early spring, the English Department ad hoc committee charged with revamping the “Writing about Difference” syllabus resigns in frustration. Standish Meacham announces that he will step down as dean of the College of Liberal Arts after serving only two years of his term. As the controversy in public media rages on--with faculty appearing in newspapers, arguing in televised debates, and speaking at professional conferences--a new ad hoc committee composes an E 306 syllabus that the faculty supports unanimously. Alan Gribben, a vocal opponent to E 306 “Writing about Difference,” makes a very public exit from the university. The interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Robert King, recommends that the English department change its governance structure to avoid controversial decisions that do not reflect minority departmental voices. The debate over the dean’s proposed changes to departmental governance dominate internal departmental meetings. The E 306 controversy continues in the press, while the university debates a six-hour multicultural curricular proposal requiring that all undergraduates take at least six credit hours of courses designated for their inclusion of multicultural content. King’s proposed departmental government is rejected by the English Department. At the end of the fall semester, the “Bean Report” on Enriching the Undergraduate Experience makes several recommendations about improving writing instruction at UT. Among these is the creation of an autonomous Division of Rhetoric and Composition.
