Jaime Cleland '00 will return to Marietta College next school year as the 2019-20 Schwartz Leader-in-Residence.
Currently, she is an acquisitions editor at the Modern Language Association where she works with college professors to develop books on teaching.
Cleland will come to campus to lead workshops and projects involving publishing and editing. The projects will cover various topics with students getting credit for their work as the goal.
The Leader in Residence program brings professionals to campus to mentor and inform students majoring in specific career areas.
"Different departments do a Leader-in-Residence each year," said Heather Sowards, Visiting Assistant Professor of English. "A lot of our students struggle with what to do with an English major. It's important for them to see there are many options."
It is the hope that working with Cleland will open doors to internships and other opportunities for those interested in editing and publishing, and for those leaning toward creative writing, the workshops will offer insight into how to get one's work published, Sowards said.
"I'm really excited about Jaime's willingness to share her insight and experience with our students," said Dr. Beverly Hogue, McCoy Professor of English. "We have so many creative students who can benefit from learning more about how publishing works, how they can share their creativity with the world. This could be a life-changing experience for some of our students."
Sowards agrees.
"With so many students who are interested in publishing and/or editing as future careers, I think this is a perfect way for them to get a deeper understanding and breadth of knowledge for the field," she said. "This experiential learning opportunity will provide invaluable experiences and potentially open up many new, exciting doors for them."
Cleland began her career in publishing with Scholastic Education and then Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, spending her days with everything from picture books to Young Adult novels. She earned her Ph.D. in English from the CUNY Graduate Center and taught courses in writing and literature for many years before returning to her roots in publishing that were developed in part at The Marcolian, Marietta College's student newspaper.
The Schwartz Leader-In-Residence Program, named in honor of Dr. Stephen W. Schwartz (1940-2006), the longtime dean of the McDonough Center, is designed to infuse leadership across the Marietta College campus. The McDonough Center works collaboratively with a department to bring to campus an outstanding leader in the department's academic area of interest.