July 7, 2003

Contact Michael Cinelli for information on the Mitchell gift announcement at 713/743-8155

J. Kastely, interim director of the Creative Writing Program, is an associate professor of English. An internationally recognized scholar, he has published numerous articles on rhetorical and literary history and theory and is the author of Rethinking the Rhetorical Tradition: From Plato to Postmodernism (Yale UP, 1997). In addition, he has written extensively about the work of literary critic Kenneth Burke.

After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Professor Kastely taught at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for 12 years, administering the Honors program for the English Department and co-authoring its doctoral program. He was awarded the Regents Medal for outstanding teaching—the highest teaching award given at the university.

At the University of Houston, Professor Kastely directed the Lower Division Studies program in the Department of English for seven years, helping to develop a more professional curriculum for the training of English teachers and playing a pivotal role in the creation of the Writing Center. He was voted Teacher of the Year by the English Graduate Students, and in 2002 he won the award for teaching excellence in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

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