Thomas A. Hyslop

Professor
ABD - Doctor of Arts, English-Composition Studies, University of Michigan
thyslop@nmu.edu

Currently teaching in his 39th. year at Northern Michigan University, Tom Hyslop is the senior professor in the department. Since 1983-84, he has served as a teacher-of-teachers in his role as the Director of The Secondary Program in English, which includes offering the department's English pedagogy courses, placing student teachers throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada, and supervising them over the course of their internship. He designed the current two-semester sequence of Liberal Studies Composition courses, serving as Director of the Composition Program on four separate occasions; designed a variety of other courses offered by the department; was acting head of the department, as well as assistant to the Head on two other occasions, and has served on every committee of the department on numerous occasions. He was a teacher-director of The Michigan Writing Project. He has served (and continues to serve) on innumerable school and university-wide committees, and on four statewide committees following his appointment to them by the Michigan Department of Education. He served on a national commission after being appointed by the National Council of Teachers of English. Since 1978, he has read, on a yearly basis, for the NCTE's Achievement Awards in Writing. A long-time member of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English, for many years he served as a reader for their Publications Award. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the MCTE, and is the Region XI Coordinator for the MCTE. For three years, he served as a "rangefinder" for the Michigan High School Proficiency Test in Writing, following his appointment to that group by the Michigan Department of Education.

A recognized master teacher, he received three awards from individual groups for his teaching during his NMU career. In the Fall of 2004, he was selected fto receive the NMU Excellence in Teaching Award.

Over the course of his career, Hyslop has given presentations at the university, at national and statewide conferences, and to groups of public school educators throughout the Upper and Lower Peninsula.

Curiously enough, he continues to enjoy his work immensely, and can't imagine doing anything else. He doesn't carve ducks; has no woodshop in the garage, and refuses to take up knitting humorous cummerbunds. He will likely retire when he is carried from the classroom on his briefcase... or when on a Tuesday, he wonders why it isn't Friday.