The ADE Bulletin is the refereed journal of the Association of Departments of English, published annually by the Modern Language Association. The bulletin is soliciting abstracts for a special issue on advising and mentoring in the undergraduate English major. Publication is scheduled for 2025. Deadline for abstracts: 15 May 2024. Deadline for submission of selected essays: 30 September 2024. Special issue editor: Felicia Jean Steele, associate professor and associate chair of English at The College of New Jersey and Eastern Regent for Sigma Tau Delta.

Faculty advisors and mentors play a critical role in the success of the English major, its students, and its programs. This special issue of the ADE Bulletin will bring together good practices, exemplary cases and models, and advice for those dedicated to the work of advising and mentoring in the major.  

Faculty members, department chairs, and program coordinators from all types of backgrounds and institutions and at all career stages are encouraged to submit abstracts. We particularly encourage submissions from those working at

• historically Black colleges and universities

• Hispanic-serving institutions

• Asian American and Pacific Islander–serving institutions    

• Indigenous-serving institutions

• access-oriented institutions 

• community colleges

Possible topics might include

• advising and career preparation in the English major

• benefits of and challenges to recruitment and retention

• good practices for belonging- and equity-centered advising, especially for first-generation students and students from underrepresented groups

• ensuring that advising counts for faculty members: humane evaluation processes and policies for faculty development 

• ensuring that advising counts for students: the value of advising and creating mechanisms for student feedback and reflection

• impact of precarious working conditions (contingency, adjunctification, short-term contracts) and other workload or workforce issues on advising

• transfer advising and other aspects of advising in the community college context

• advising students through mergers and consolidation

• advising and mentoring in the cocurricular space (e.g., with regard to student life and activities)

• advising in collaboration with other departments, units, and programs

• the role of educational technology and learning management systems in advising  

• strategies for department chairs seeking to train and support advisors

Please submit abstracts of 500 words to Janine Utell, managing editor, at jutell@mla.org by 15 May 2024. Those invited to participate will be notified in early June.   Completed essays will be due 30 September 2024. Invitations to contribute do not guarantee acceptance of manuscripts. Essays should be no longer than 6,000 words and should follow the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook. The ADE Bulletin is committed to inclusive editorial practices. For more information, visit the ADE Bulletin web page.