MFA Writers Protest Letter
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28 April 2015 Dear President Kuo, Provost Ellis, and Chairman Hu, As writers and faculty affiliated with the City University MFA Programme in Creative Writing, we are writing to protest the closure of the MFA Programme, which was announced to us with no consultation by the acting chair of the Department of English on 27 April. This closure, which was presented with no satisfactory explanation, spells the end of a highly successful, self-sustaining global education program that has fulfilled City University’s core mission, as you put it in your President’s Message, of “the cross-fertilisation and mutual enrichment of different cultures and intellectual traditions for human betterment.” The MFA Programme in Creative Writing, which only enrolled its first class in 2010, uses the “low-residency,” distance-learning curriculum model, in which students come to the CityU campus for short residencies (three a year) and spend the rest of the year working intensively with highly distinguished international writer/teachers via electronic communication. The advantage of such a program is that it requires relatively few university resources, while providing a world-class educational experience to a select number of highly qualified students, many of whom are professionals with full time jobs. The CityU MFA Programme is the first truly global creative writing program anywhere in the world. It has attracted students from 20 different countries, and a writing faculty that represents literary traditions of Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It has brought internationally recognized, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers to the CityU campus for the first time. While maintaining an international focus, it has also provided a new educational opportunity to Hong Kong residents: 52% of our students are residents of the SAR. The MFA Programme was always designed to admit a relatively small group of students and to be a “niche” program for the highest level students within the university. Although it operated at a deficit in its first several years, it became profitable and self-sustaining in 2015, with a total enrollment of approximately 40 students. The programme has already led to high-level outcomes for its graduates, who have already published six highly recognized books as a direct consequence of their studies at CityU, as well as many journal publications and other forms of professional recognition. In light of these facts, we can see no convincing reason why the Department of English needs to close the MFA Programme. The Department and City University as a whole have invested their reputation in our success, and we have already brought the university increased international visibility in literature and the arts. In the future, we feel that the MFA Programme promises to make CityU a widely recognized centre of global literary and cultural dialogue, which will in turn contribute to Hong Kong’s growing importance as a international centre of arts and culture. We ask that City University reconsider its decision and re-open the program for new enrollment in 2015 and beyond. Yours most sincerely,
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As writers and faculty affiliated with the City University MFA Programme in Creative Writing, we are writing to protest the closure of the MFA Programme, which was announced to us with no consultation by the acting chair of the Department of English on 27 April.
Transcript of MFA Writers Protest Letter
28 April 2015 Dear President Kuo, Provost Ellis, and Chairman Hu, As writers and faculty affiliated with the City University MFA Programme in Creative Writing, we are writing to protest the closure of the MFA Programme, which was announced to us with no consultation by the acting chair of the Department of English on 27 April. This closure, which was presented with no satisfactory explanation, spells the end of a highly successful, self-sustaining global education program that has fulfilled City University’s core mission, as you put it in your President’s Message, of “the cross-fertilisation and mutual enrichment of different cultures and intellectual traditions for human betterment.” The MFA Programme in Creative Writing, which only enrolled its first class in 2010, uses the “low-residency,” distance-learning curriculum model, in which students come to the CityU campus for short residencies (three a year) and spend the rest of the year working intensively with highly distinguished international writer/teachers via electronic communication. The advantage of such a program is that it requires relatively few university resources, while providing a world-class educational experience to a select number of highly qualified students, many of whom are professionals with full time jobs. The CityU MFA Programme is the first truly global creative writing program anywhere in the world. It has attracted students from 20 different countries, and a writing faculty that represents literary traditions of Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It has brought internationally recognized, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers to the CityU campus for the first time. While maintaining an international focus, it has also provided a new educational opportunity to Hong Kong residents: 52% of our students are residents of the SAR. The MFA Programme was always designed to admit a relatively small group of students and to be a “niche” program for the highest level students within the university. Although it operated at a deficit in its first several years, it became profitable and self-sustaining in 2015, with a total enrollment of approximately 40 students. The programme has already led to high-level outcomes for its graduates, who have already published six highly recognized books as a direct consequence of their studies at CityU, as well as many journal publications and other forms of professional recognition. In light of these facts, we can see no convincing reason why the Department of English needs to close the MFA Programme. The Department and City University as a whole have invested their reputation in our success, and we have already brought the university increased international visibility in literature and the arts. In the future, we feel that the MFA Programme promises to make CityU a widely recognized centre of global literary and cultural dialogue, which will in turn contribute to Hong Kong’s growing importance as a international centre of arts and culture. We ask that City University reconsider its decision and re-open the program for new enrollment in 2015 and beyond. Yours most sincerely,
Jess Row USA Tabish Khair India/Denmark Nami Mun USA Evan Fallenberg Israel Robin Hemley Singapore Jose Dalisay Phillipines Suzanna Paola USA Shawn Wong USA Marilyn Chin USA Luis Francia USA James Scudamore United Kingdom Ravi Shankar USA Rae Armantrout (Pulitzer Prize winner) USA Tina Chang USA Bob Shacochis USA Junot Díaz (Pulitzer Prize winner)
USA Robert Olen Butler (Pulitzer Prize winner) USA Ira Sukrungruang USA Sybil Baker USA Sharmistha Mohanty India Madeleine Thien Canada Chang-rae Lee USA Richard Blanco (US Inaugural Poet, 2012) USA Richard Jackson USA Rawi Hage Canada
