Since earning my PhD in 1998, I’ve taught many different types of writing courses, for both undergraduate and graduate students, at universities in Indiana, Minnesota, and Kentucky. In addition to teaching, I have almost always been doing some kind of writing-program administration. In Indiana and Minnesota, I directed large composition programs, and in Kentucky, I interned for both the dean and associate provost and directed a new writing-across-the-curriculum program. Before I became an associate dean at Loyola, I was Chair of the Writing Department for four years.
Because I believe that the best teachers of writing are writers themselves, I spend much of my time researching and writing about issues related to teaching and administration. I have published books and book chapters on graduate-student writing, professional development, writing instruction, and assessment. My articles on these and other related topics have appeared in numerous journals, including Composition Studies, CCC, Profession, and College English.
If you decide to take a writing class with me, you will, of course, write a lot, but you will also read a great deal, discuss your writing and reading with your classmates, and reflect on the many connections between writing and reading. Because I think students learn more when they are active class participants, I don’t lecture very much. Instead, I rely on teaching methods such as whole-class discussion and small-group workshops. For more information on my professional activities, see my curriculum vitae (pdf format).