Stephen A. Bernhardt

Director, Strategic Initiatives
Professor, Andrew B.  Kirkpatrick, Jr., Chair in Writing
Department English, College of Arts and Sciences
132 Memorial Hall
302-831-3069
sab@udel.edu
Blogsite
English Department Web page

Research Interests

Medical communication, proposal development, teams and technologies, conduct of clinical trials, workforce literacy, problem-based learning

Education

• 1981 PhD, English And Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – Dissertation: Rhetoric and Text Structure in Scientific Prose
• 1974 M.S. Ed. in English and Education, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
• 1971 B.A.., High Honors, Philosophy, University of Illinois, Urbana

Professional Experience

• Department Chair, English Department, University of Delaware, 2004-2009
• Professor, English Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 1995 -2001
• Associate Professor, English Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 1987 -1995
• Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 1987
• Assistant Professor, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 1981-87
• High School Teacher, American School, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 1976-77
• High School Teacher, Addison Trail High School, Addison, IL, 1974-76

Recent Publications

• Writer’s Help: A Bedford/St. Martin’s Online Handbook. Original author: Diana Hacker (deceased). Bedford Handbooks Series Author: Nancy Sommers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Publishers, 2011. http://writershelp.com
• Bedford Bits. A regular blog on the teaching of writing. 2011-http://blogs.bedfordstmartins.com/bits/author/sbernhardt/
• “Missed Opportunities in the Review and Revision of Clinical Study Reports.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 26 (Spring, 2012): 131-170. doi:10.1177/1050651911430624. (co-authored with Gregory P. Cuppan).
• “The Evidence for Problem-Based Learning.” In Evidence-Based Teaching. Edited by William Buskist and James Groccia. Series: New Directions In Teaching and Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Winter 2011: 21-30. (with Deborah E. Allen and Richard S. Donham)
• “The Genre of the Clinical Study Report in Drug Development.” In Rhetoric of Healthcare: Essays toward a New Disciplinary Inquiry. Barbara Heifferon and Stuart Brown, Eds. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2008. (pp. 115-132). (with Philip Bernick and Gregory Cuppan).
• “Improving Document Review Practices in Pharmaceutical Companies.” Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 17.4 (October, 2003): 439-473.
• “Knowledge Management and Pharmaceutical Development Teams: Using Writing to Guide Science.” Joint issue of Technical Communication, 47.1 (2000): 22-34 and IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 43 (2000): 22-34. (Lead article, with George McCulley).

Grants

• “Integrated Science and Mathematics Education: A Model Course for Pre-Service Teachers.” NSF TUES. PI. Developed in collaboration with faculty in science and math. $200,000 over 3 years.
• “IGERT: Systems Biology of Cells in Engineered Environments (SBE2).” NSF 11-533. Member of cross disciplinary team under PI Kelvin Lee. Will team-teach course in Business, Ethics, and Communication, Sp2013. ≈ $3m. over 5 years.
• “ePortfolios for Professional Writing Concentrators in English.” With Rebecca Worley. UD CEE Grant, 2010-2012. $6,000.
• “Case-Based Approaches to Technical Communication Instruction.” UD General Education Instructional Improvement Grants. 2002. $15,000.
• “Multidisciplinary Teamwork in Research.” NSF IGERT Protein Structure, Function and Assembly. (Small collaborative role representing writing and teamwork with associated teaching and coaching in program). February 2002. $2.7 million.

Honors and Awards

• Distinguished Service Award, Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, 2003.
• Fellow, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, 2003.
• Partnership Award, to NMSU from the New Mexico Coalition for Literacy, in recognition of Step Ahead and the University's efforts to promote public/private partnerships to enhance worker skills in New Mexico hospitals, 1993.
• Christa McAuliffe Award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities for the SIU-C Renewal Institute for Practicing Educators, 1986.

Professional Membership

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (Past President); Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (Past President); College Composition and Communication; National Council of Teachers of English

Courses

• Composition
• grammar and style
• professional rhetoric
• science writing
• proposal development
• business and technical communication