Background
Diane Persin Economakis serves as Teaching Professor of English and Director of First-Year Writing. She has taught at IUSB since 2006, became Assistant Director of FYW in 2016 and has held the position of Director since 2019. Diane leads yearly and/or semesterly orientations for First-Year Writing faculty. Her most frequently taught courses include English W270: Argumentative Writing (a course which she was instrumental in restructuring), English W131, and H100 (Honors Freshman Seminar.) She also created the interdisciplinary course T390: Music and Literature, which she teaches occasionally.
As Director of First-Year Writing, Diane has spearheaded the following initiatives in order to facilitate student success:
- Revamped and TILTed W130 curriculum
- Developed online placement exam for incoming students
- Initiated program-wide use of Zero-Cost Texts
- Facilitated embedded tutor program, in collaboration with Academic Center for Excellence
- Revamped First-Year Writing Handbook
- Created First-Year Writing Faculty Handbook in Canvas
Diane is also a musician and serves as Executive Director of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras. She and her husband have a seventeen-year-old daughter.