October 17, 2014
Dear Dr. Colby, Members of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, and Dean Groce:
Please accept this letter for consideration for my promotion to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Appalachian State University. In the documents provided in my dossier and the collection of artifacts on my webpage (lauriearamirez.weebly.com), you will find all of the required materials in support of my request for promotion and tenure. In this letter, I will introduce the contents of my dossier and briefly outline my contributions and accomplishments in the areas of teaching, research, and service. Additional information supporting my promotion and tenure can be found within my narrative statements and notable indicators on my promotion and tenure webpage.
I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. I began at Appalachian in 2009 and am in my sixth year at Appalachian. My primary teaching responsibilities are in the Middle Grades teacher education program where I teach courses focused on young adolescent development, culturally and developmentally responsive curriculum, and middle level philosophy and best practices. I have taught nine different courses while at Appalachian—six undergraduate and three graduate. I have taught courses for our department as well as a number of other programs (e.g., Foreign Language, Secondary History, Library Science, etc.). As part of my teaching responsibilities, I have designed two separate courses, one undergraduate and one graduate, both of which were developed to fill a void in the previous programs of study. Both were intended to better prepare future teachers for an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse population. A review of my student and peer evaluations will demonstrate a consistently high rating of effectiveness as well as a commitment to improvement and professional growth.
My scholarly activity focuses teacher education and preparation. More specifically, my work in this field is situated into three subcategories: (1) middle level teacher preparation, (2) self-study of teacher education practices, and (3) critically reflective practice, especially with regard to diversity. The publications and presentations I highlight in my dossier demonstrate my ability to develop and implement a viable and relevant research agenda. In my time at Appalachian, I have published nine refereed journal articles and five refereed conference proceedings. I have presented at international, national, regional, state, and local conferences, with a total of 34 presentations, two of which were invited. The research on which I am currently working is twofold. One looks at the alignment of the middle school philosophy and organization tenets and the Common Core State Standards for language arts. Another is a collaborative study of leadership in higher education and its implications for teaching and scholarship, particularly in pre-tenure faculty. The former will be presented at two upcoming national conferences in November and December 2014. The latter was presented at an international conference this past August and is being extended into a manuscript for publication. These examples and my full dossier will demonstrate a commitment to scholarship and its dissemination in professional circles.
The last section of my dossier will highlight the wide range of service in which I have engaged. Service is something that is very important to me and I feel it is too often overlooked. My service includes participation at the department, college, university, and community levels as well as involvement and leadership in professional organizations. I have served on a number of committees, taskforces, and work groups across the college and campus. In my department, I serve as the Middle Grades Undergraduate Program Director as well as the Faculty Advisor for a student organization, the Collegiate Middle Level Association. As Director, I have worked with our middle grades team and Professional Advisory Council to assess and improve our program. As Faculty Advisor, I have led the organization to a National Chapter ranking for the 2013-2015 school year. Most recently, I have been called to serve on the Departmental Personnel Committee and as a Co-Chair for the Middle Grades Search Committee. Beyond the university, I am the Secretary of the North Carolina Professors of Middle Level Education organization as well as a Council Member for the Middle Level Education Research special interest group. I also serve as a reviewer for a number of journals and conferences. In the community, I serve as a member on the Executive Board of the F.A.R.M. Cafe, a community kitchen that serves healthy, local food to all, regardless of means and strives to build an inclusive, respectful, and educated Boone community.
Taken together, my materials represent a commitment to my career as a teacher scholar. Not only do I consider the work I do with my colleagues in the department and beyond “good” work, I also consider it important work. I take my position very serious and strive to find ways to interconnect my teaching, research, and service to create a body of work that has meaning and longevity. I greatly appreciate the opportunities I have been afforded in the past five and a half years at Appalachian and I look forward to spending many more years with the faculty and staff of the Reich College of Education and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. I hope the committee finds my promotion and tenure materials demonstrate my commitment and merit tenure status and promotion to associate professor. I thank you in advance for the consideration of my letter, dossier, and supporting materials. I am happy to provide further evidence or answer any questions, if necessary.
Sincerely,
Laurie A. Ramirez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor/Undergraduate Director
Middle Grades Program
Appalachian State University