Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Friends of the Fiction Writing Department,

First of all, I want to thank all of you who supported the Fiction Writing Department last year through a challenging prioritization process at Columbia College Chicago.  To those of you who wrote testimonials on behalf of me as chair and on behalf of the department that we have all grown to love—especially those faculty who began the albersforchair.org site and those students, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends who signed petitions, wrote emails, and exchanged messages on Facebook—I can’t begin to express my gratitude for your support…

I am a parent of a current Fiction Writing student and the recent news about what the department stands to lose through the prioritization process has left me unnerved and greatly concerned. My daughter, Emily Schultze, has seen her talents and her ambition blossom at Columbia, and it is all thanks to the fantastic Fiction Writing Department. I truly feel that this department is such a unique place, where students can not only feel at home and comfortable, but have the opportunity to utilize so many resources that are there for them. My daughter is constantly calling to tell…

The semicircle is a magical place where a mythic fire burns as we all take turns telling our stories.  Letting business dictate what is valuable by stifling the stuff of such creativity for the sake of the bottom line would be criminal.  I could not knowingly support an institution where the semicircle might not exist.

A wonderful thing about Randy Albers is that he gives equal attention to the big picture and the small one. He can be in the midst of something as all-consuming and incredible as Story Week and still make a student feel important during a one-on-one conversation at an event. That’s a rare quality.

While involved in any engaging story, I am always interested in what happens next. We are in the middle of a drama now, where a satisfying ending may or may not happen.

I sense much fear in the administration. Fear of not being like every other college, turning out artists by the numbers, or clones, as opposed to voices, artists who make a difference.

Although a larger creative writing program may not be a bad idea at all, what concerns me is the elimination, perhaps, of the Story Workshop Approach. The college most likely wants to see more students in these…

The Fiction Writing Department, under the leadership of Randy Albers, had a deeper effect on me than any other academic experience I ever had. The Story Workshop method drew out the best of me on both creative and personal levels; the department engaged me completely – not just as a student but as a very active participant in a shared vision of what writing and life expressed through writing was all about. Columbia’s Fiction Writing Department made me feel like I was part of something unique and challenging and profoundly energizing. I will always remember that gift and hope…

I am in full support of Randy Albers and the Fiction Department. Without either, I would have never even considered Columbia College Chicago.

It is enormously disappointing to read news like this which demonstrates such a lack of vision on the part of Columbia College Chicago’s school administrators.  Like so many people, I too have a profound respect for the professional and peerless work Randy Albers has done in developing the Columbia programs that I personally benefitted from as a MFA 2002 graduate. However, this issue goes way beyond pathos or ethos, as many Chicagoans who have no direct affiliation with CCC can attest.  Randy Albers has developed programs that benefit the entire city, adding his gracious intellect to the development of the city’s higher…

Not all professors are equal.

I work with a former student of Dr. Albers. She recently shared with me the terrible situation Dr. Albers and the Fiction Writing Department are in and asked if I could sign the petition.

I am also one of those people who greatly benefited from an amazing professor who changed my life. From a Bush Grant to presenting and attending  conferences to being published in an academic journal, my own “Dr. Albers” helped me navigate that realm of being a student. My professor was and is one of those professors whose home phone number is listed…

The exact reason I choose Columbia over all other schools in the country, and the reason I relocated from Colchester, CT to Chicago, IL was the Fiction Writing Program.  No other school in the nation offered an undergraduate degree in fiction.  No other school in the country allowed me to start studying my major from day one, thereby providing me with four full years of instruction, while other students were forced to complete general education first.  No other school in the country had classes taught by published authors—not just teachers but instead genuine industry role models. Every other program I looked at…