{"id":167,"date":"2023-02-08T22:39:10","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T22:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/the-writing-program\/?page_id=167"},"modified":"2024-06-11T11:03:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T18:03:50","slug":"emeritus-faculty","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/the-writing-program\/emeritus-faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"Emeritus Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\"Emeritus<\/p>\n

James Brecher<\/a>,\u00a0Professor (Teaching) Emeritus of Writing<\/p>\n

https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/1670\/supreme-opportunities\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Brecher in Memoriam<\/strong><\/p>\n

I met James Brecher in Chicago.\u00a0 It was January 2014, and I was interviewing for a position at USC. \u00a0He was part of the hiring committee.\u00a0 After some initial pleasantries and a few gentle queries from the other professors in the room, Brecher, who\u2019d been silent up to that point, announced that like me, he was a lawyer.\u00a0 For the next twenty minutes, he lodged the most aggressive line of questioning I\u2019ve ever been subjected to (\u201cImagine you\u2019re teaching a writing course on health and healing.\u00a0 Give me your four-assignment progression now.\u201d)\u00a0 He was testing me, prodding me, trying to determine if I had the stuff to fill his shoes when he retired.<\/p>\n

Before I came to USC, I\u2019d never taught legal writing.\u00a0 In my own academic career, I\u2019d only taken the course in law school.\u00a0 But USC offered something unique to its pre-law aspirants, and when I got the job, Brecher was assigned as my mentor.\u00a0 In my second semester in Los Angeles, when I was charged with my first legal writing sections, I used Brecher\u2019s course packet and assignments as models.\u00a0 Brecher also taught an Advanced Legal Writing course that flew to San Francisco to see arguments in front of the California Supreme Court.\u00a0 I was asked to observe that class, too, and later, Brecher and I co-taught it.<\/p>\n

For several years, I had a front seat to one of the most gifted and natural teachers I\u2019ve ever witnessed.\u00a0 Brecher was a grand storyteller with a colorful career trajectory\u2014from hard-nosed Florida litigator to program director of the Home Shopping Network to USC legal writing professor.\u00a0 He commanded his classroom in a way I\u2019d never seen before (and could never emulate).\u00a0 He was gruff and tough, prickly and demanding, generous and as dedicated to this university as anyone.<\/p>\n

Early this year, James Brecher, my mentor and my friend, passed away.\u00a0 It was a shock to learn that this man, this force of nature who\u2019d built the foundations of the curriculum I teach every year, was no longer with us.\u00a0 Brecher had a personality that could never be forgotten and indeed, from time to time, I can still hear his raspy baritone poking at the logic of an argument or forecasting the latest Supreme Court opinion.\u00a0 Brecher was one of the most brilliant lawyers I\u2019ve ever known, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for all he taught me.\u00a0 On behalf of USC\u2019s Writing Program, I extend my deepest condolences to his family and friends.\u00a0 While he may no longer tread this earth, Brecher\u2019s impact lives on through the sharp and thoughtful rhetoric of the army of young lawyers he edified and inspired.\u00a0 Rest in peace, Jim.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0‘<\/p>\n

-Antonio Elefano, Associate Professor (Teaching) of Writing<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Geoffrey<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Middlebrook,\u00a0Professor (Teaching) Emeritus of Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Geoffrey Middlebrook is a Teaching Professor Emeritus in the Writing Program and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Middlebrook has established himself as an authority on writing in digital environments, and is the recipient of the USC Provost\u2019s Prize for Teaching with Technology, USC Faculty Mentoring Award, and USC Advanced Writing Teaching Award. He presents his work frequently at national conferences, has published in journals and books, and is a past member of the CCCC\u2019s Committee for Effective Practices in Online Writing Instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-167","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEmeritus Faculty - The Writing Program<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/the-writing-program\/emeritus-faculty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emeritus Faculty - 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