One ASU administrator might have to choose between cactus-studded desert hills and the snowy woods of central Wisconsin.
Elaine Maimon, ASU West provost and a University vice president, accepted on Tuesday a position as the head of a newly formed program, Writing Across the Curriculum.
But she also remains one of the top three candidates to fill the vacant chancellor position at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a relatively small campus within the UW system.
Maimon said she would head the writing program and make her decision about leaving for UWSP only if she is accepted.
"I'm delighted and I'm honored to have the prospects of the [distinguished professorship]," Maimon said. "That's wonderful. And I'm looking at other things, and by July 1, we'll see what happens."
Maimon will complete her work at ASU West on June 30.
The program is still in its formative stages, but Maimon said it would strive to help students "write by learning" and "learn by writing." In other words, a series of still-unspecified initiatives would first improve students' writing overall.
Second, the initiatives would enhance students' understanding of other subjects by bringing writing into the curriculum.
For example, a math or engineering student's education would be enhanced by additional writing components. Maimon said this could also help linguistically-inclined students learn mathematics more easily.
"Our goal is to have the best writing program in the United States," Maimon said.
Craig Diemer, vice chancellor for business affairs at UWSP, said he did not know how Maimon's candidacy would be affected by her new position.
Diemer is a member of the search committee that will help select the replacement for Thomas George, UWSP's former chancellor. George took a position at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The three finalists to fill the vacancy will meet at UWSP for on-campus interviews during the next couple of weeks.
UWSP is more autonomous than ASU West and runs its own distance learning programs and collaborative programs with local community colleges, Diemer said.
On the other hand, UWSP also is a small satellite university comparable to the west campus.
The school has about 8,700 students, and its College of Natural Resources is the largest academic unit of its kind in the nation, Diemer said.
Reach the reporter at nicole.saidi@asu.edu.
