Office 27th Ohio
Senate
District Legislative Committees Senate Finance and Financial Institutions, chair;
Controlling Board; Health; Rules; Insurance and Commerce; Legislative Service Commission
Years in Office Since 1987
Personal Hometown, Akron; Graduate of University of Akron; Married, 2 children
Arts Support Member of Blossom Music Center Board of Overseers
Last Good Book Read The Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
Proudest Creative Achievement “Assisting and enhancing the jewel of
Northeastern Ohio, Blossom Music Center.”
Ohio Arts Council programs have resulted in publication of two books about teaching
writing. Teaching Writing from a Writer’s Point of View presents practical and
exciting ways for teachers to reinvigorate their classrooms and their own attitudes toward
creative writing. Why Workshop? Changing Course in 7-12 English mixes candid testimonials
about the workshop method and provides basic information and teaching and assessment
tools.
Teaching Writing from a Writer’s Point of View is a collection of essays and creative
writing based on the OAC’s nationally recognized summer creative writing institute,
The Experience of Writing. The book includes contributions from K-12 students, teachers
who participated in the summer institutes and professional writers, such as Ron Carlson
and Scott Russell Sanders, who have been institute faculty members. Teaching Writing is an
excellent resource for English teachers at all levels.
Teaching Writing from a Writer’s Point of View was edited by Terry Hermsen and Robert
Fox. Hermsen, a poet who has worked in the OAC’s Artist in Residence Program for 20
years, received a writing fellowship from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and is an
instructor at The Ohio State University’s Marion campus. Fox is the OAC’s
Literature Program coordinator and an award winning fiction writer. The book is published
by The National Council of Teachers in English.
In 1993, the creative writing institute received major funding from the Literature Program
of the National Endowment of the Arts, which enabled it to advance its work with secondary
English and language arts teachers. Why Workshop? Changing Course in 7-12 English, is a
compilation of nine essays in which teachers who took part in Change Course! articulate
the development of their methods and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of various
teaching strategies. The book promotes the workshop method and provides information on how
to implement a student-centered classroom. Edited by Rich Bullock of the English
Department at Wright State University, Why Workshop is published by Stenhouse Publishers.
To obtain copies of Teaching Writing from a Writer’s Point of View and Why Workshop?
Changing Course in 7-12 English contact Bob Fox, Ohio Arts Council, 727 East Main Street,
Columbus OH 43205-1796 or email bfox@oac.state.oh.us.
The Ohio Arts Council has revised its program guidelines as a result of planning sessions
held over the past year. Guidelines 2000-2001, a 100-page manual, includes
explanations of legal and residence requirements, new funding policies, how to apply for
grants and fellowships, and descriptions of OAC programs.
Guidelines lists new deadlines for fiscal year 2000 funding, including applications
for AIE Artists in Residence, which are due December 1, 1998.
Copies of the new Guidelines have been mailed to all previous OAC applicants. They
are available free at 23 locations statewide or by mail; call 614/466-2613; for TTY/TDD
use Ohio Relay Service 1-800-750-0750. Guidelines will be on-line by mid-December.
