The English department has a few extra dollars in its pockets.

Those extra dollars are from the department being chosen as a First Choice Award graduate department. The money is going toward the creation of the Susan Bazargan Annual Lecture.

Bazargan is responsible for the expansion and heightened quality of the program, said Christopher Hanlon, director of the English department’s graduate studies program.

Bazargan served as the English department’s coordinator of graduate studies from 2001-2005.

“(It’s) a series named after a recently retired colleague who spearheaded the development of our two-year M.A. program,” said David Raybin, a member of the Council on Graduate Studies.

The English department will retain “First Choice” status for three years.

During that time it will be eligible for extra financial resources from the graduate school to further strengthen its status.

“Members of the English department are thrilled by the award,” said Raybin.

Hanlon also had nothing but praise for the department.

By receiving the First Choice Award, the English department has met the criteria necessary.

“It’s the graduate school’s effort to regulate graduation projection by departments leading the way in recruitment, matriculation, diversity and scholarly productivity by faculty and staff,” Hanlon said.

The status is awarded in conjunction with the Council on Graduate Studies.

The English department applied for the award.

“The Council on Graduate Studies examined an extensive application submitted by the English department,” Raybin said.

“They met with representatives of the department to discuss the application and determined that the English department graduate program met the criteria for First Choice status.”

According to Hanlon, the English Graduate Program has demonstrated sustained achievements in several areas defined by the Council on Graduate Studies.

“One of the areas, for instance is in scholarly productivity,” he said.

The department excelled in this category because over the past four years, 27 graduate faculty in the department have authored 233 publications.

Among those publications include eight books, three book-length translations, and 49 referred journal articles, 20 articles for book collections, 55 poems, four short stories and 23 works of prose non-fiction.

“The English Department is also home to three important journals: Karamu, The Thomas Wolfe Review, and The Chaucer Review,” Hanlon said.

The department will receive the same assistantship and travel benefits as the history department received.

The benefits both departments received are a Presidential Assistantship; one will be reserved for each First Choice Program.

Two Summer Research Assistantships will also be awarded, along with one Williams Travel Award and one $500 Graduate School Initiative Award to be applied to the program’s highest priority.

“I’m just proud of my colleagues in the English department,” he said. “Proud to be a part of such a sterling group of teachers, scholars and creative writers.”