Dear Andrew,

We recently learned of the possibility that Junse Kim will be offered fewer classes to teach in the SFSU Creative Writing department. He may lose his health benefits as a result, forcing him to look for work elsewhere. We are writing to ask that the department do whatever is possible to avoid this catastrophe.

Our department is blessed with an abundance of talented professors. But because of his attention to pedagogy, emphasis on creative writing fundamentals, and exceptional work ethic, Junse plays a unique role in the department’s curriculum. Junse’s specialty is to nudge his students out of their complacency and address their weak points. For graduate students, his Earning Dramatic Emotion class serves as a kind of boot camp, rigorously defining the elements of fiction writing and drilling students to the point of mastery. For many of us, this class has served as an essential launchpad allowing us to fully profit from what is offered in our other classes.

Junse provides precise and detailed critiques on written assignments, a demanding task that many creative writing professors neglect. And in serving as Junse’s assistants for undergraduate classes, many graduate students have gained valuable insights into pedagogy by studying his efforts to meet his own high standards as a teacher.

Finally, we are also concerned about the setback that Junse’s departure would cause the department’s efforts to attain and maintain ethnic diversity, both in its faculty and indirectly in its student body.  

We know that declining enrollment and budget cuts make this a difficult time for the department in general and for the university as a whole. We understand that labor contracts and university regulations constrict the options of department chairs. It would be easy to respond to this letter by saying your hands are tied. But department chairs and administrators have always found ways to cut red tape when the necessity seemed paramount. We humbly suggest that this is one of those times, and ask that you join us in seeking a way to keep Junse fully employed and doing what he does best.

Yours sincerely,

SFSU Creative Writing Students