WILMINGTON – We overflow with fascination about STEM fields these days.  But UNC Wilmington hasn’t lost sight of an enduringly important skill: How to write a sentence.

In the accompanying video, Chancellor Jose “Zito” Sartarelli credits previous chancellors with developing a strong Creative Writing program at UNCW.

“They felt that that was an area that was very important, and we were able to lock in and bring in some top professors,” he says.

Among them, he notes North Carolina writer Clyde Edgerton, as well as Jason Mott, a UNCW alum and now writer-in-residence whose first novel became the ABC TV series Resurrection.

Sartarelli challenges assumptions that writers seldom find profitable careers.  He cites a “serial entrepreneur” who maintains that technical knowledge is important, but adds:  “Someone who can connect that and write well?  Very important.”

Creative-writing majors can pursue graduate work or find their way into the corporate world, Sartarelli says.

“With the training that we’ve provided, they’ll be equipped to compete.”