FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS --
FACULTY
What can I do in connection with Beacon?
1) Be a mentor. Encourage students who produce excellent work in your classes to consider submitting their work to Beacon. Work with them as necessary to polish up their papers for submission and, if the papers are chosen, for presentation at the conference.
2) Be a reader. Read and rank papers submitted to Beacon in your discipline. Contact the NCC Beacon representatives or the co-directors of the current year's conference for more information or just fill out a reader form.
3) Be a supporter. Let students and other faculty here and at other two-year colleges know about Beacon. Come to the one-day Beacon conference in June, support the finalists from NCC, and hear some excellent papers.
How much time does it take to be involved with Beacon?
As a mentor, that depends on you and the students you work with, but most faculty and students report that the time spent is very rewarding.
As a reader, it means reading and ranking about 7-15 papers in March.
As a supporter, it means taking a few minutes in class or some space on your syllabus to let students know about Beacon.
Can I see samples of past winning papers?
Yes, the Northampton's Library has copies of papers written by winners from past years (back to 1994) under the call numbers beginning with L901 .B23.
If you are not from Northampton Community College, check to see if your college is among the Beacon sponsoring colleges and check with members of the Steering Committee from your college.
Who knows about Beacon?
The Beacon representatives on Northampton's campus are:
Nancy Trautmann, English
Bethlehem phone: 610-861-5315
Bethlehem campus office: College Center-353A
ntrautmann@northampton.edu
Ronit Shemtov, Sociology
Bethlehem phone: 610-332-6551
Bethlehem campus office: College Center-385
rshemtov@northampton.edu
Randy Boone, English
Monroe campus phone: 570-688-2485
Monroe campus office: Tannersville 115
rboone@northampton.edu
What if my college is not involved with Beacon?
Contact the NCC Beacon representatives or the Beacon Conference co-directors for the current year's conference for information about becoming a sponsoring college. As soon as you get information about Beacon, go immediately to your college's President, Provost, or Dean and sing Beacon's praises. For an annual contirbution of $500 or more (that helps pay for the annual conference), your college can become a sponsoring college and you might even become part of the Steering Committee.
