1995 report
FACULTY ACTIVITIES REPORT
1995
Name: Hugh A. Blackmer
I. Instructional Activities
A. Provide a list of formal courses taught, with enrollment in parentheses.
Winter Term, 1995 Spring Term, 1995 Fall Term, 1995
Biology 182 (50) Psych 395a (6) East Asian Studies 190(3)
(2 sections) Psych 432a (2) Biology 182 (19)
(both with Tyler Lorig)
B. Describe Independent Study, Theses, or R. E. Lee Research Supervised (include students' names and
the title of project undertaken.
C. Indicate any guest lectures given in classes taught by colleagues. Include course number.
Biology 280
Engineering 160
English 101b
English 301 (3 classes)
Physics 100 (2 classes)
Psychology 256
D. Call attention to new or substantially modified courses taught. Indicate which are new and which
are modified.
Psych 432a was a new course (Scientific Visualization); all others were modified with
new material, to keep abreast of changes in electronic resources
E. Discuss any curricular changes you helped instigate in your Department.
F. Check if you are a freshman adviser _______ A major advisor_________.
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G. Note any additional contributions you made to the teaching program which you believe to have been
of value to your students or your colleagues (e.g., arranging outside speaker's appearance, conferences,
or other special events; proposing a course for the University Scholars' Program or an interdisciplinary
seminar for upperclassmen, etc., etc.)
Extensive work with the World Wide Web: designing, authoring, instructing, consulting
with faculty, staff and students. I ran week-long faculty/staff workshops in information
access and Home Page development in June and August (more than 60 participants), and
have been the primary manager of W&L's World Wide Web presence. My work in areas
of hypertext development is summarized at http://www.wlu.edu/~hblackme/examples/
H. Cite any activity in which you have engaged in the past year in the interest of improved teaching (e.g.,
attended a summer seminar, prepared teaching materials for a new course, promoted student writing
in novel ways, etc.).
Creation of various weblets to support teaching in a number of courses (see
http://www.wlu.edu/~hblackme/examples/); Online Oxford English Dictionary
weblet (http://www.wlu.edu/~hblackme/oed/oedtrial.html) and presentation
to English department faculty;
I. List any articles or textbooks you have published this year (or have substantially in final form) that are
related to the teaching of your subject. Include publication data.
J. List articles or textbooks in progress that are related to your teaching.
K. Note participation in summer teaching programs either at W&L or elsewhere.
L. Note participation in visiting professorships or leave of absence during the academic year.
II Teaching Evaluation.
A. Cite ways in which you have obtained student response to your teaching (e.g., course
surveys, senior exit interviews, surveys of graduates, student journals, interviews of students
by you or others).
In courses for which I have primary responsibility (Biology 182, EAS 190) I
solicit written commentary on the utility of course material and request
suggestions for improvements in subsequent years.
B. Cite other means you have used to evaluate your teaching (e.g., peer visitation, videotaping,
colleague review of teaching materials, u se of pedagogical consultants).
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C. Cite actions you have taken based on these evaluations (e.g.,new pedagogical methods,
participation in summer seminars, promotion of student writing in novel ways).
Modifications of content, notably fuller explanations of areas identified by students
as particularly difficult.
III. Research and Scholarship
A. List all books, monographs, articles and book reviews published in the past calendar year (but note
point I-I above for instructional materials); include publication date and full name of journal or
publisher. Include as relevant all musical compositions, art exhibits, and dramatic presentations.
Review of Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, in College and Research Libraries News,
June 1995
B. List all books, monographs, and articles accepted for publication in the past calendar year; include
publication data.
C. List all research projects funded by W&L sources or from outside agencies. List as well proposals
written and submitted which were unsuccessful.
D. Note all professional meetings attended with dates and location of each meeting. Indicate any papers
or panel presentations in which you were involved. Also indicate the source of funding you received
(if any) to assist in defraying the expense of attendance.
Association of College and Research Librarians Annual Meeting, March 29-31, Pittsburgh
(Library travel funds)
E. List by title all papers and talks given to university audiences both at W& L and elsewhere. Indicate
whether each is a paper or a talk. Also indicate source of funding received to assist in defraying the
costs of travel (if any).
F. Note any talks given in your field to lay audiences. Give the dates and the nature of the audiences.
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G. Give a general description of your scholarly "work in progress" with some indication of the results you
anticipate in the near future (use an additional sheet if necessary).
My principal responsibilities are in the realm of electronic access to information: teaching
strategies and techniques to individuals and groups, consulting on a wide range of software
problems, developing existing applications to better serve the W&L community, investigating
new developments on the frontiers of computer applications in library and instructional areas.
During 1995 this activity has included extensive work in planning for the services of the new
Science Library. I anticipate continued work with WWW resources, including exploration
of interactive capabilities using the Java language.
IV. Honors, Awards, and Professional Recognition
Note any recognition conferred upon you by peers outside of Washington and Lee (e.g.,election as a Fellow of
the Virginia Academy of Science, election to office in a relevant professional organization, etc., etc.) and by
peers and students within Washington and Lee (e.g., Ring Tum Phi Award).
V. University and Community Service Activities
A. List all departmental, school or University committees on which you have served.
Computer-Library Liaison Committee
B. List all community agencies or organizations in which you have provided service (e.g., State©wide
committees or agencies, Lexington organizations). Indicate service provided or office held in each
organization.
C. Note any assignment you have assumed in giving counsel to students individually or to student
organizations (e.g., fraternity adviser, adviser to outing club, etc., etc.).
D. List other activities you have participated in as service to W&L (e.g., panel discussion for high school
counselors, faculty discussion club, etc.).
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VI. Professional Consultation
Note consulting activities which you have undertaken. (These should include reading manuscripts, reading and
commenting on manuscripts for professional colleagues, and editorial assistance, as well as consultations with
businesses, academic institutions, or professional organizations.)