Tag Archives: Edmund Spenser

Academic Writing

Job Application Cover Letter

Note: I only ever applied for one tenure-track position before I left academia for a career in IT. This is the cover letter I attached to my application. Looking back, it is a neat encapsulation of many activities and ideas that were significant in the first decade of my post-college life. (DL Sept. 8, 2021)

I am writing to apply for the position of Professor of Literature at Houston Baptist University. I believe that my professional training and research potential, my breadth of teaching experience, my personal commitment to a classical focus in education, and my missions-oriented cross-cultural experience make me an excellent candidate for the position.

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Academic Writing

A Letter of Thanks

Note: In October of 2008 I presented at my second academic conference. Holly and I went to St. Louis together and spent a glorious few days as grown-ups without our small children (then 5 and 3). We saw the St. Louis arch. We went to the St. Louis Zoo. We bought fudge. And–momentously–we had our first alcohol. Champagne on a whim at the hotel followed by bad beer at a pizza place led two Bob Jones graduates out of a lifetime of teetotalery into the world of social alcohol consumption. All-in-all an excellent memory. This letter I wrote to the English department afterwards captures the professional aspects of the conference. (DL, Sept. 8, 20201)

I would like to express my gratitude to the English department for generously sponsoring my participation at the Sixteenth-Century Society and Conference in St. Louis on October 22 to 26 of this year. I feel privileged to have been selected for such support, especially during this time of economic trouble when the university is under additional financial pressure.

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