UNG English professor featured in "The Academic Minute" broadcast

For 10 years, Dr. Michael Rifenburg has worked with student-athletes to improve their writing by having them tap into the skills they use to improve in their sport.

An associate English professor at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Rifenburg explained student-athletes watch game film to "reflect" on the plays that did or didn't work. He said this concept can help in writing because a student-athlete can ask "why did I write this sentence? And how can I do that different or better?"

UNG basketball player Ephraim Tshimanga said it works.

"He was able to show me the similarities in learning what I could do, which is basketball, and connecting it to writing," the sophomore biology major from Kennesaw, Georgia said.

Rifenburg's use of reflective assignments with student-athletes recently hit the airways during "The Academic Minute" broadcast Sept. 12 on WAMC. The regional public radio network serves parts of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

Hosted by Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, "The Academic Minute" features a different professor each day, drawing experts from top colleges and universities from across the country. Rifenburg's broadcast can be heard or read on "The Academic Minute" website.