The Sigma Tau Delta Missouri Southern chapter held a luncheon for the new English faculty noon Sept. 16.

“There’s a great rapport in this department between faculty and students, and we wanted to throw this to show them that,” said Naomi Austin, senior secondary English major and president of STD.

The new professors include Dr. Christopher Dowd, a graduate from the University of Connecticut who specializes in American literature; Damon Kraft, a University of Missouri-Columbia graduate specializing in early British literature; and Dr. Achala Tiwari, an adjunct instructor who graduated from the University of Jabalpur in India. Tiwari will be teaching English composition.

“I’ve been to schools in India, Australia and Atlanta,” Tiwari said. “This English department is the best.”

The luncheon was open to any English student and was one of the regular Academics Anonymous meetings the society has each month. They also honored Joan Kearney, who will be the secretary for the English department.

“She’s on loan [from the art department] for a year,” Austin said.

During the meeting, binders were presented to the new instructors comprised of clips from student contributions, which included places to eat in Joplin, Shel Silverstine poetry and new teacher tips.

The new English staff was thankful for the luncheon and also glad to be a part of Southern.

“I’m really excited to be here,” said Dowd.

“I look forward to calling this home,” Kraft added.