Tarleton library hosts Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week brunch

5359 — Tarleton State University's Dick Smith Library will announce the opening of the Dr. Randall Popken Papers during Research & Scholarship Appreciation Week. The late Dr. Popken taught English at Tarleton for 20 years, and after his death in 2005, his wife donated his papers to the library's special collections and archives.

STEPHENVILLE (September 28, 2018) — Tarleton State University’s Dick Smith Library hosts “Readings & Sharing Collections: Creativity, Scholarship and Brunch” at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, to celebrate Research and Scholarship Appreciation Week.

In addition to a faculty member and several students reading from their own writings, the library will announce the opening of the Randall Popken Papers, 1959-2005.

Dr. Marilyn Robitaille, associate professor of English at Tarleton, will read selections from her recently published book, Not by Design: Fifty Poems and Images. The book is an anthology of her poetry and is illustrated with watercolor and collage images.

For 24 years, Robitaille has co-managed Tarleton’s student arts and literary magazine Anthology: A Student Forum for Prose, Poetry, and the Visual Arts. Her current research pertains to specialized London productions of 18th-century plays by women. She has chosen two student editors of the Anthology to share their writings.

Dr. Kathleen Mollick, professor of English, will begin the opening of the Randall Popken Papers by relating her experiences working with Dr. Popken during his tenure at Tarleton.

Popken taught English and writing at Tarleton for 20 years. After his death in 2005, his wife donated his papers to the Dick Smith Library Special Collections and Archives.

Popken crafted many articles and book chapters relating to discourse analysis, genre acquisition, and technical aspects of writing. He also presented many papers on the same topics to national, regional, state and local professional conferences.

Part of his research consisted of analyzing writing samples of his students and evaluating the Tarleton Freshman Writer Project. The collection contains his findings, which he presented at professional conferences and described in articles published in academic literature.

While working on his doctorate at the University of Kansas, Popken became interested in Edwin Hopkins, a professor of composition at the university in the late 1800s. The collection includes the extensive research he conducted on Hopkins’ teaching and writings.

The brunch takes place in the Multi-Purpose Room in the library. For more information, contact Amy Castillo at acastillo@tarleton.edu or 254-968-9868.