Col. Christina McDonald joined the VMI faculty as the first Institute Director of Writing in 2002. In addition to teaching courses in first-year and advanced composition, the history of rhetoric, and the rhetorics of particular discourse communities, she is responsible for ensuring the integrity of writing instruction in the disciplines across Post to ensure that VMI graduates are able to communicate effectively for a variety of occasions and purposes.
For nine years before coming to VMI, Col. McDonald taught undergraduate and graduate courses in both literature and writing at James Madison University, where she served as director of composition and founding head of the Writing Program, an independent academic unit in the College of Arts and Letters. An honors graduate of Rollins College, she earned her Ph.D. in English, with a specialization in rhetoric and composition studies, at Texas Christian University under the mentorship of Gary Tate, Winifred Bryan Horner, and Jim Corder.
Col. McDonald organizes VMI鈥檚 nationally recognized Spilman Symposium on Issues in Teaching Writing, and she has become a popular invited speaker on using writing to promote reflective learning, particularly in electronic environments. Her publications include two books,聽Teaching Writing: Landmarks and Horizons (Southern Illinois University Press, 2002) and聽Teaching Composition in the 1990s: Sites of Contention(Harper Collins, 1994).
Professor
English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies
Cadet-initiated Research on rhetorical analysis and application:
- Cadet Michelle McCusker聽鈥�14 (English major), Institute Honors Thesis, 鈥淲hy Aren鈥檛 We All Healthy? A Rhetorical Analysis of the Dominant Narrative of Health,鈥� (in-progress).
- Cadet Kylen Schmidt聽鈥�15 (English major), Summer Undergraduate Research Project, 鈥淎n Ethnographic Study of Cowboy Culture in the American West,鈥� a rhetorical study of how the language, literature, art, and music of cowboys intersected and influenced one another and contributed to the identity of the American West and the iconic figure of the cowboy, Summer 2013.
- Cadet Michelle McCusker聽鈥�14 (English major), Summer Undergraduate Research Project: 鈥淩hetoric, Community, Advocacy: Making the Case for a System of Sustainable Health Care in Rockbridge County,鈥� the first research with a service-learning orientation to be funded by V-CUR, culminating in a published聽.
- Cadet Cabell Willis聽鈥�14 (History major with writing minor), Summer Undergraduate Research Project. Archival research and an ethnographic study, 鈥淲riting Under Cover: The Literacy Practices of VMI Cadets,鈥� Summer 2012.
- Cadet Matthew Waalkes聽鈥�13 (Biology major with writing minor), Independent Study project, a written and visual documentary of VMI鈥檚 of Engineers Without Borders chapter鈥檚 inaugural trip to Bolivia, Fall 2011.
- Cadet Alex Houser聽鈥�10 (Biology major with writing minor), Independent Study project, The Rhetoric of Medicine, culminating in a research paper, 鈥淎lternative Medicine in America,鈥� Spring 2010.
- Cadet Josh Kenny聽鈥�09 (Biology major with writing minor) and Cadet Alex Snyder (Chemistry major with writing minor), joint Independent Study project, Rhetoric and Scientific Discourse, Spring 2009.
- Cadet Dominik Wermus聽鈥�10 (Physics major with writing minor), Independent Study project. Contemporary Rhetoric and Physics, which led to a 10-page research paper, 鈥淪cientific Rhetoric in the Modern World,鈥� Fall 2009.
- Cadet Will Flathers聽鈥�08 (Electrical Engineering major with writing minor), Independent Study in Reading Classical Rhetoricians: Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, Spring 2008.
- Cadet Will Flathers聽鈥�08 (Electrical Engineering major with writing minor), Independent Study project, 鈥淏ombs Away! Portrait of a World War II Pilot.鈥� A research-based nonfiction narrative account of George William Flathers鈥檚 wartime service as a B-17 pilot, from 1942 to 1944, Fall 2007.
- Cadet John Terminato聽鈥�07 (History major with writing minor), Institute Honors Thesis, 鈥溾�楾esting鈥� the Goals of Education: One Student at a Time鈥擜 Case Study of the No Child Left Behind Act鈥檚 Effects on the Future of Education in Pennsylvania.鈥�
- Cadet Matthew Sharpe聽鈥�04 (Computer Science major with writing minor, Class of 2004), Institute Honors Thesis, 鈥淭he Role of Rhetorical Studies in Software Engineering and Human Computer Interaction.鈥�
Col. McDonald received the VMI Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006 and was elected as a faculty initiate to the VMI Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa in 2010. In 2011, the Superintendent presented her with the VMI Meritorious Service Medal.