MEMBER PROFILE MARY GRABAR When I joined the National Association of Scholars in 2004, I had just completed my Ph.D. in English and post-doctoral teaching assistantship at the University of Georgia. That year, I was teaching as a part-time instructor at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. Since then, I have taught part-time on various campuses in Georgia. Most recently it was in the English Department at Emory University, in the Program in American Democracy and Citizenship. I taught there from the program’s inception in 2007 until its end in 2013. I have also been a free-lance writer, focusing on education issues. In 2011, I founded Dissident Prof, a nonprofit education reform site.
MARY GRABAR
At every step, I have found NAS to be of tremendous help. The organization has offered me networking opportunities, professional support, and moral encouragement. NAS has helped me make contacts for publishing my work. For example, I met George Leef, editor of the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy newsletter, and John Leo, editor of Minding the Campus, at an NAS conference. I continue to write frequently for their sites. I have been published in Academic Questions, and look forward to reading colleagues’ articles there and at the NAS website. There is no similar outlet for such scholarship. NAS members have also publicized my writing. The Georgia state chapter has also offered great opportunities for meeting colleagues. I have worked closely with Georgia Chapter President Ann Hartle. For the last several years I have been responsible for publicizing our speakers. In the process I have met many great scholars and journalists of national renown. In 2013 I was the co-speaker with Dr. Tina Trent on the legacy of 1960s radicalism on our campuses. I probably have contact with at least one NAS member every day in some way, and know that the organization offers a national support team like no other for the traditional scholar. Mary Grabar is a writer, speaker, and education consultant. She blogs at www.dissidentprof.com.
2013 ANNUAL REPORT | 7 |