Programs and Areas

Rhetoric, Composition and Literacy

Alumni

Want to know where a degree in Rhetoric and Compositon can take you? Check out our list of recent RCL grads and find out where they are now.
What about . . .? Check out our list of earlier, well-known alumni.
Want the full story? Check out our Alumni news section. Hear about recent scholarship, personal accomplishments, and family celebrations.
What are you up to? Share your story -- fill-out the Alumni Online Update.
Missed the last update? Check out our archive of alumni updates.

Recent Graduates: Where are they Now?

Although accounts of the contemporary academic job market are almost uniformly discouraging, the Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies at The Ohio State University has a strong record of placing graduates in academic appointments. The following is a list of placements for candidates completing the doctoral degree in rhetoric and composition at The Ohio State University.

Mecklenberg-Faenger, Amy. Ph.D. 2007. College of Charleston.
Palmeri, Jason. Ph.D. 2007. Miami University of Ohio.
Pine, Nancy. Ph.D. 2007. Mount Union College.
Webb-Sunderhaus, Sara. Ph.D. 2006. Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Braun, Catherine. Ph.D. 2005. Ohio State University - Marion
Dingo, Rebecca. Ph.D. 2005. University of Missouri.
McCorkle, Ben. Ph.D. 2005. Ohio State University - Marion
Delagrange, Susan. Ph.D. 2005. Ohio State University - Mansfield
Dangler, Doug. Ph.D. 2004 Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing, Ohio State University
Hoang, Haivan. Ph. D. 2004. University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Dunbar, Melissa, Ph.D. 2002. Penn State University.
Ianetta, Melissa Ph.D. 2002. Composition and Rhetoric at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Martin, Pamela, Ph.D. 2002. Assistant Professor, Department of Writing and Linguistics, Georgia Southern University.
Pauliny, Tara, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
Smith, Tania, Ph.D. 2002. Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Program, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta.
Goldthwaite, Melissa, Ph.D. 2001. Assistant Professor, Department of English, St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Cox, Cynthia, Ph.D. 2000. Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing Programs at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Taylor, Rebecca "Becky" Ph.D. 2000. Director of the Writing Program (Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum) at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Williams, Andrea Ph.D. 2000 Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Program, Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta.
Bausser, Jaye. Ph.D. 1999. Assistant Professor, Department of English and Linguistics at Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Miller, Paul, Ph.D. 1999. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Davidson College, Davidson, NC.
Rallin, Aneil, Ph.D. 1999. Assistant Professor, Department of English, California State University at Chico.
Stacy, Rob. Ph.D. 1999. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Albertson College, Caldwell, ID.
Fredal, Jim, Ph.D. 1998. Assistant Professor, Department of English, The Ohio State University.
Barnett, Timothy, Ph.D. 1997. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL.
Williams, Wade, Ph.D. 1997. Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA.
Wright, Melinda, Ph.D. 1996. Director, Writing Workshop, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Brockman, Elizabeth, Ph.D. 1995. Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI.
Comfort, Juanita, Ph.D. 1995. Assistant Professor, Department of English, West Chester University, West Chester, PA.
Kates, Susan, Ph.D. 1995. Assistant Professor, Department of English and Women's Studies Program, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
Miller, Scott, Ph.D. 1995. Director of the Writing Center, Sonoma State University (California State University), Sonoma, CA.
Abels, Kimberly Town, Ph.D. 1994. Director, The Writing Center, University of North Carolina, Department of English, Chapel Hill, NC.
Dorman, Peter, Ph.D. 1994. Professor, Department of English, Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg, VA.
Goodburn, Amy, Ph.D. 1994. Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
Leverenz, Carrie, Ph.D. 1994. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
Campbell, Kermit, Ph.D. 1993. Associate Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Writing, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.
Dietrich, Carole, Ph.D. 1993. Assistant Professor, Dean of General Education, DeVry Institute of Technology, Columbus, OH.
Ertel, Rebecca, Ph.D. 1993. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH.
LeCourt, Donna, Ph.D. 1993. Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA.
Mejia, Jaime, Ph.D. 1993. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.

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Some Earlier Well-Known Alumni

Belanger, Kelly, Ph.D. 1992. Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Wyoming.
Griffith, Kevin, Ph.D. 1992. Full Professor and Chair of the Department of English, Capital University.
Mountford, Roxanne, Ph.D. 1991. Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
Nelms, Gerald, Ph.D. 1990. Associate Professor and acting Chair, Department of English, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL.
Glenn, Cheryl, Ph.D. 1989. Associate Professor, Department of English, Penn State University, University Park, PA.
Sullivan, Patricia, Ph.D. 1988. Associate Professor, Department of English, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
Colleran, Jeanne Marie, Ph.D. 1988. Associate Professor and Chair (1996), Department of English, John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH.
Connors, Robert J., Ph.D. 1980. Professor, Department of English, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH.
Lunsford, Andrea, Ph.D. 1977. Professor, Department of English, Stanford University.

Last Updated: Summer 2000
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News from Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies

Are you an OSU Rhetoric & Composition Alumni? We'd love to hear from you -- tell us what you're up to either professionally or personally. We'll post your update here to share with other alums. Fill out our Alumni Online Update form OR email your update to: rhetcomp@osu.edu

Kimberly Abels is at the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can contact her at kabels@email.unc.edu.
Betsy Brown (Ph.D. '78) is currently working for the Office of the President at the University of North Carolina, which represents the 16-campus UNC system. She works with faculty development and support, international programs, teaching/learning/technology, and the University library forum.
Vincent J. Brown (Ph.D. '92) is a Research Scientist in Statistics at Battelle. Vince has been at Battelle, a private research organization in Columbus, since 1987. He worked in technical writing, editing, and publications management for 11 years, and then transferred to a statistics and data analysis department. Mostly, he does research and project management on contracts with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation. You can contact him at brownv@BATTELLE.ORG.
Paula Foster Chambers (Ph.D. '00) and husband Gary have moved to California where Paula plans to start a consulting practice in business communication. Paula's listserv for academics seeking alternate careers (WRK4US) is drawing national attention. She has been interviewed by Vault.com, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The U.S. News and World Report.
Geoffrey A. Cross (Ph.D. '88) is a Professor of English at the University of Louisville. You can contact him at gcross@louisville.edu.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS:My 2001 book, Forming the Collective Mind (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press) received the 2002 Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Business Communication (for best book, chapter, or article published in 2001). It also received the 2003 Best Book in Scientific and Technical Communication Award from NCTE and the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. My first book, Collaboration and Conflict, also received the NCTE award in 1996.

PERSONAL NEWS:All members of my family have survived and flourished in Louisville. My eldest daughter now attends the University of Missouri-Columbia, another of my alma maters (MA, Journalism, 1978). I'm sorry to have missed the last two reunions at CCCCs--I was "on ethnographic assignment."
Christine DeVinne (Ph.D. '96) is an Associate Professor at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio. You can contact her at cdevinne@urusline.edu.
Teresa Doerfler (Ph.D. '97) You can contact her at TDoerfler@aol.com.
Lisa Ede (Ph.D. '75) is a Professor of English at Oregon State University in Corvaliss, Oregon. You can contact her at lisa.ede@oregonstate.edu.
Cheryl Glenn (Ph.D. '89) and Jon Olson have moved their books and their big dog to central Pennsylvania after eight good and productive years at Oregon State. Although they miss their friends in Oregon (and still miss their friends from Ohio State), they are happily settled in at Penn State, working with a good group of colleagues and students. Cheryl recently finished a textbook, which should appear in early 2003, and continuing with her research on rhetorics of silence. The silence manuscript is nearly 300 pages, so it might break into two parts. Cheryl's biggest news is that she is now a grandma, which is the easiest job she's ever had. All is well.
Amy Goodburn (Ph.D. '94) is an Associate Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln Nebraska. You can contact her at agoodburn1@unl.edu.
Roger Graves (Ph.D. '91) teaches technical writing, composition, and service-learning courses at DePaul University in Chicago.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: My recent work focuses on the connection between writing and the community. Several students in my grant writing service-learning courses have obtained funding for their community groups (over $25,000 raised so far). With Heather Graves (Ohio State PhD 1992) I am working on a project called Composition in Canadian Universities, an update of my 1994 book, Writing Instruction in Canadian Universities.
Jane Greer (Ph.D. '94) is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at University of Missouri--Kansas City. You can contact her at greerj@umkc.edu.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: Jane has just finished editing Girls & Literacy in America: Historical Perspectives and the Present Moment. Several OSU alumnae, including Amy Goodburn, Andrea Lunsford, Paul Miller, Lisa Weems, and Janet Russell have contributed essays to the volume. It will be available in June, 2003, from ABC-CLIO.
Kevin Griffith (Ph.D. '92) was promoted to Full Professor and now serves as the chair of the English Department at Capital University.
Susan Kates (Ph.D. '95) has a book just out from Southern Illinois University Press entitled Activist Rhetorics and American Higher Education, 1885-1937.
Sandee McGlaun (Ph.D. '00) is an Assistant Professor of English and Writing Center Director at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, Georgia.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS:I've been thrilled this year to have two opportunities to perform "What a Doll" (a performance piece written as part of my dissertation), in a one-act play festival and at a women's studies conference. Locally, I am in the process of managing and implementing a Writing Fellows Across the Curriculum grant through our Writing Center--a challenge but a real opportunity if we can get everything in place

PERSONAL NEWS:My big news is that I am in the process of moving to my newly purchased house! My Clay Creek address will be in effect by April 15th.
Paul Miller (Ph.D. '99) is Assistant Professor of English at Davidson University. You can contact him at pamiller@davidson.edu. Scott Miller (Ph.D.'95) is the Director of the Writing Center at Sonoma State University.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS:Currently inches away from tenure, and all signs are extremely positive. Served as President, Conference Chair, and Executive Board Member for the Northern California Writing Centers Association. We held the conference here at SSU in 2000, bringing Dr. Muriel Harris out to teach us some things about our work. I'm too busy but with all good things.

PERSONAL NEWS:Having a great time back in my 'hood (after very wonderful interludes in Ohio and Alabama).

COMMENTS:Y'all feel free to let me know how you are: scott.miller@sonoma.edu.
Roxanne Mountford (Ph.D. '91) is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at University of Arizona.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: On April 12, 2002, I received word that the University of Arizona had tenured and promoted me to associate professor. I turned 40 the next day--quite a birthday present! In November 2003, my book The Gendered Pulpit: Preaching in American Protestant Spaces will be published in the Rhetorics and Feminisms Series of Southern Illinois University Press (a series edited by Cheryl Glenn and Shirley Wilson Logan).

PERSONAL NEWS: *Bill Endres and I finally had our honeymoon (several years late) in England and Ireland in May 2002.

*Bill was accepted into the Arizona State University PhD in Rhetoric and Linguistics program last year and is enjoying the coursework. He continues his work as an academic professional in UA's Writing Program. In 2002 he was named a finalist for the Five-Star Faculty Award, the most prestigious teaching award given at the University of Arizona.
Gerald Nelms (Ph.D. '90) Director of Writing Studies and Interim Director, Communication Across the Curriculum; Associate Professor, Department of English, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: Jerry will remain Interim Director of Communication Across the Curriculum until July 1, 2004, when that position will merge with others into an Associate Provost position. During 2003-2004, Jerry updated the SIUC CAC Web site, adding 100+ pages of resources: www.siu.edu/departments/cac. Jerry is an active learning enthusiast and in the past has been involved in the curricular design of and tutoring in an alternative, problem-based, collaborative-learning program for entering first-year students. Most of Jerry's early scholarship was on the post-WWII history of composition theory and practice. He has publications in Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, and Written Communication. Currently, he is collaborating with Ronda Leathers Dively on a study of the transfer (or lack of transfer) of composition knowledge from the first-year comp course to writing-intensive courses in the majors.

Jerry's newage and contemplative world music show, "Music from Beyond the Lakes," (Sundays, 8-10 pm, WDBX, 91.1 FM, Carbondale, alternately produced and hosted with Namdar Mogharreban and Zola Van) first aired Easter evening of 1996. It continues to gather regular listeners. References to Beyond continue to appear on the web, where it has been named one of the best newage shows in the world. (There is talk of possibly streaming the show online.) For each show he produces (approximately, 2 each month), Jerry writes a short meditative introduction to the thematically programmed show. He has written hundreds of pages of meditations.

PERSONAL NEWS: Jerry is married to Marcia Nahikian-Nelms, who runs the clinical dietetics major at Southeast Missouri State University. Jerry's older son, Taylor, is in his second year at Ohio State, studying in comparative studies, international economics, anthropology, and writing. Taylor is planning on studying in South America this summer. Jerry's younger son, Emory, is finishing middle school this year. He is a star baseball player and likes playing the saxophone. He will go to Japan this summer (after baseball season) through a Rotary Club student exchange program.
Krista Ratcliffe (Ph.D. '88) is an Associate Professor of English & Director of First-Year English at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. You can contact her at krista.ratcliffe@marquette.edu.
Rebecca Rickly (M.A. in '86) is an Associate Professor of English at Texas Tech University. You can reach her at Rebecca.rickly@ttu.edu.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: Carol Clark Papper dubbed me the "techno trollop," and while that title hasn't exactly fit (I won't tell you WHY), it has seemed to permeate my professional life in that I've been working with technology since the first computer-assisted FYC classes at OSU. I spent four years working with the English Composition Board at the University of Michigan, and now I'm co-directing a very forward-thinking first year composition program at TTU, known as ICON (Interactive Composition Online). I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in technical communication, rhetoric, and women's studies at TTU, and I love being part of a comp/rhet and technical communication and rhetoric program here--superb opportunities for cross disciplinary thinking/learning/writing. Current projects include a research methods book, collections on field methods in tech com, and professional development for graduate students.

PERSONAL NEWS: I married Locke Carter in 1996 after a long virtual courtship, and we're currently very happy both working at TTU (he's the director of graduate studies in technical communication here). We have two incredible children, Landon and Ellis, and we just bought a new house--actually, a pecan farm--so if the academic thing doesn't work, we have a second career to look forward to (or to retire to!). We have a spare bedroom, so all you OSU buddies have a place to stay next time you come through Lubbock, TX.
Sarah Sloane (Ph.D. '91) is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University. You can contact her at sjsloane@lamar.colostate.edu.
Tania Smith (Ph.D. '02) is an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies on the Faculty of Communication & Culture at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta. You can contact her at smit@ucalgary.ca.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: Since I was hired at the U of C in July 2002 before I completed my dissertation, I have been developing as a scholar and teacher in two areas: the history of women's rhetoric, and professional & technical communication. The latter field was not a focus of my Ph.D. studies, but I am now very interested in its rhetorical and educational aspects. I have received a grant to start a field research project on rhetorical education within university-nonuniversity research partnerships, a study similar to Ann Blakeslee's work on the ways scientists learn about and address their audiences. This term I'm continuing to revise my dissertation and a few articles in 18th century women's rhetorical history. I am part of a unique non-departmentalized, interdisciplinary faculty which has a growing Communication Studies program with a concentration in Rhetoric and Discourse. Since arriving here, I've created and taught a new regular course in Advanced Professional and Technical Communication (Coms 463), and I've spearheaded a revision of the curriculum and format of Coms 363, our 2nd-year Technical & Professional Communication course offered to students in Business, Engineering, Communication & Culture, Computer Science and Geography programs. Besides teaching two undergraduate courses and one graduate course (2005) in Prof. & Tech. Comm. Theories, I also teach courses in History and Applications of Rhetoric (Coms 461) and Spoken and Written Discourse (Coms 361), which focus on developing speech, writing, and criticism skills within the context of the rhetorical tradition. Our university, like many Canadian universities, does not have a first-year writing course required for most students, so Comms 363 and 361 are mainly taken by students who have never before taken a university-level course in writing.

PERSONAL NEWS: My husband Phil has returned to work for Fuji Photo Film Canada as Technical Service Representative, the position he had for 10 years previous to our move to Columbus. We now live in Tuscany, a new community on the Northwest corner of the city which has a panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains--and I have always dreamed of living within sight of the mountains. My Web site is at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~smit.
Rob Stacy (Ph.D. '99) is an Assista nt Professor in Environmental Studies and English at Albertson College of Idaho. You can contact him at RStacy@albertson.edu.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS: I'm in my fourth year at Albertson and have had the pleasure and privilege of helping to create an environmental studies program here. I direct the college's writing program.

PERSONAL NEWS:I'd have more to say about my professional life if I weren't so busy skiing, hiking, climbing, star gazing, flower gathering, hot-spring soaking, tree hugging, cloud inspecting and otherwise goofing off in the local mountains. I've recently married someone who graciously indulges my pursuits and even joins me on occasion. Brian Sutton (Ph.D. '92) is an Associate Professor in Humanistic Studies, English, and English Composition at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I'm also Chair of Humanistic Studies, Director of English Composition, and Director of the Writing Center. You can contact me at suttonb@uwgb.edu .
Rebecca Taylor (Ph.D. '00) is an Assistant Professor and Writing Director in the Department of English at Gustavus Adolphus College. You can contact her at rtaylor@gustavus.edu.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS:I'm currently working on a manuscript titled Toward a Rhetoric of Reading: Cases from the Composition Classroom. I recently published an essay titled "Reading What Students Have Written." It appears in Reader: Essays in Reader-Oriented Theory, Criticism, and Pedagogy.46 (May, 2002): 32-82. I also am beginning to publish some work about the nature of composition work at small colleges. I just finished a book chapter with a colleague here at Gustavus (Laura Behling, English) titled Researching What We Teach, Teaching Our Research. It will appear in a forthcoming volume titled Academic Cultures: Professional Preparation and the Teaching Life. Ed. Sean P. Murphy (MLA).

PERSONAL:My husband, Greg, and I had a new baby boy named Ellet Wendell on July 17, 2002. Winston is a very happy big brother, and the two boys are absolutely adorable together. Winston's fascination with gender (see last Alumni update) has now become an equally focused fascination with weather. That's what you get for moving to tornado country. Ellet, on the other hand, will have his hands full just explaining to people where his weird name comes from. ("No, not Eliot. ELLET. Like, 'smell it.'")
Robert Yagelski (Ph.D. '91) is an Associate Professor in English Education in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at State University of New York, Albany, NY.

Last Updated: Fall 2004

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