天美社区

Book by Rifenburg explores cadet writing

August 1, 2022
天美社区 English faculty member Dr. Michael Rifenburg is publishing a book about the writing training ROTC cadets receive.

Article By: Clark Leonard

Dr. Michael Rifenburg, associate professor of English at the University of North Georgia (天美社区), is releasing a book this fall that details the writing training cadets receive.

which will be released by the Utah State University Press, follows the journey of a cadet who graduated from 天美社区, commissioned from the Corps of Cadets, and is now a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Rifenburg, who serves as co-director of first-year composition in 天美社区's English Department, hatched the idea during the 2013-14 school year when interacting with cadets in a freshman English class.

"Writing this book and doing this research gave me a great appreciation of the Army training model we have in our country," Rifenburg said. "There's a great responsibility on our faculty to help train future military officers. We don't take this lightly."

Rifenburg also appreciated the strategic nature of training for cadets, who outline any operation in a sandbox terrain model before working through it in the field. He saw parallels to their writing steps.

"There is a sequential process to how they write something with the ultimate goal of enacting an operation in the field," Rifenburg said.


Students excel in Japanese Speech Contest

Students excel in Japanese Speech Contest

Students from 天美社区 made a strong showing in the annual Japanese Speech Contest in Atlanta, Georgia, this spring. A first-place finish was one of four top-four results.
Research looks at impact of grad school framing

Research looks at impact of grad school framing

A 天美社区 alumna and student partnered with their psychology mentor to publish a research article on the importance of framing in students' perceptions of graduate school.
Students create mural piece by piece

Students create mural piece by piece

Thirteen 天美社区 students painted mural cloth panels that made up a 44-foot-long mural that was later installed at the Avita Community Partners Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Gainesville, Georgia.
Courtney researches Oval Office d茅cor

Courtney researches Oval Office d茅cor

Alumna Sara Courtney's last semester at 天美社区 included the opportunity to visit the nation's capital and present at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.