by Ahlaam Abdulwali ’25
Professor Peter Bognanni ends his time as chair this semester and passes the baton on to Professor Matt Burgess. During Professor Bognanni’s term, the English department has grown tremendously with a large number of newly declared English majors and minors. We asked Professor Bognnani some questions about his time as chair, and he graciously answered them below.
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When you were selected as chair, what was the thing you most looked forward to?
The thing I most looked forward to when I was chosen to be chair was getting to know all of our incredible majors, and that has been even more rewarding than I first imagined. For the last three years, I have heard about everyone’s capstones, everyone’s study abroad experiences, and I’ve read all the evaluations (so often glowing) of the classes we offer. I’ve also just had a lot of casual conversations with students at department events and office hours. All of these experiences have been genuinely inspiring. There is so much passion, intelligence, and creativity in this department. Our majors keep me inspired to come to work and try my best each day.
What’s something that you accomplished during your time as chair that you’re most proud of?
Undoubtedly it’s my TikTok with 15,000 views. Just kidding (kind of). The truth is there have been so many great things that have happened over the last few years, and very few of them were things I did alone. It was the enthusiasm of Jan Beebe and the faculty that got Literary Salons up and running, and I love that we’re bringing more writers and scholars into the building on Wednesday nights. We did some great hiring, bringing in inspiring professors like Coral Lumbley and the soon-to-arrive Sarah Ghazal Ali, which was also a department-wide effort. I also think we’re doing as well as we ever have at creating a sense of community in the department. The pandemic slowed our roll for a while, but it has been great to see all the students hanging around 2nd Floor Old Main and attending all our events. These have been some of the highlights. But also: have you seen my TikTok?
We’ve had an influx of new English majors– to what do you attribute this change to?
Our amazing faculty. While there have been some nation-wide trends that have given us a boost–Creative Writing seems to be growing at many institutions right now, for example– it really comes down to students sitting in classrooms and being inspired. That’s what makes them want to walk down to my office to declare a major. This happens on both sides of our major, and I’m really proud of our faculty for helping this department thrive when that isn’t necessarily the case with English at other colleges.
What advice would you give to the future chairs?
Oh boy. How long do I have? The first year is really hard because you have to suddenly understand how EVERYTHING at the college works. But if you can make it through that, it gets much better. I think something it took me a little while to learn was that I didn’t necessarily have to come in trying to make big changes. I was really just a steward of something that governs itself in many ways. Also four words: Active Social Media Presence.
Now that your term has elapsed, what do you intend to do with your newfound free time?
Write! I have a novel in its final stages and I was hired to write a screenplay this year that needs a rewrite. Also, I have three kids and I imagine they’ll find a way to fill up some of the newly-freed hours. So, you know, things lots of English Professors do: Pokemon battles, water gun fights, and bike rides to the donut place.
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Thank you to Professor Bognnani for taking the time to answer our questions! Professor Bognanni champions the role of the “dad” of the department so never hesitate to stop by his office hours. Good luck to Professor Burgess during his time as chair!