
English Faculty + Staff
It's our people who make the difference
The English Department is one of the largest departments on campus, with about 40 current faculty/staff and many active retired faculty/emeriti. The depth of faculty expertise, passion, and engagement sets English apart from other areas of campus.
With prolific writers, researchers, and scholars in everything from creative writing to rhetoric to English education to linguistics to critical studies in literatures, cultures, and film (and many time periods and geographical areas of coverage), students who major or minor in any emphasis of English will find incredible instruction and academic support at every possible turn. When you add the bonus of some of the most musically gifted faculty on campus, outside of the Music and Theatre Arts Department, it’s an irresistible lot.

Opening eyes and minds
Shih, who was honored Feb. 5 during UW-Eau Claire's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, was recognized for his leadership in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion on campus and in the greater Chippewa Valley.
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Expert advice
To expose her students to more diverse perspectives in the field, English education professor Christina Berchini organized a panel of six area teachers to come in and speak with the class.
Getting the real 411
Black writer of note
An international anthology of critical studies of the creative works of Dr. Tess Onwueme, University Professor of Global Letters in English at UW-Eau Claire, is set to be released in May by Africa World Press.
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More Than a Vacation
During the 2019-2020 Winterim at UW-Eau Claire, students were offered an opportunity to participate in an immersion trip to Jamaica led by Dr. Cathy Rex and Dr. Joel Pace.
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A Department Committed to Excellence
For the past several years the English department has had faculty and staff members recognized for excellence at the university's academic year opening meeting.
English faculty awardedMeet the outstanding members of the English department:
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Jan Stirm, Ph.D.
Department Chair | Professor
- Centennial Hall 4113, Eau Claire | Directions
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Jose Felipe Alvergue, Ph.D., M.F.A.
Associate Professor | Director of Undergraduate Studies
- Centennial Hall 4111, Eau Claire | Directions
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Stephanie Farrar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Interim Director of Graduate Studies
- Centennial Hall 4219, Eau Claire | Directions
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Kaia Simon, Ph.D. (she/her)
Assistant Professor | Director of the Writing Program
- Centennial Hall 4202, Eau Claire | Directions
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B.J. Hollars, M.F.A.
Associate Professor | Director of Writing Internships
- Centennial Hall 4104, Eau Claire | Directions
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Candis Sessions
Academic Department Associate
- Centennial Hall 4102, Eau Claire | Directions
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Alaina Guns
University Services Program Associate | Academic Department Associate
- Centennial Hall 4102, Eau Claire | Directions
- Centennial Hall 4508, Eau Claire | Directions
- Hibbard Humanities Hall 632, Eau Claire | Directions
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Debra K. Barker, Ph.D.
Professor | Director of AIS
- Hibbard Humanities Hall 376, Eau Claire | Directions
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Brett Beach, M.F.A.
Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4419, Eau Claire | Directions
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Erica Benson, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4306, Eau Claire | Directions
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Kelly Budruweit, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4106, Eau Claire | Directions
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Dorothy Chan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4303, Eau Claire | Directions
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Shelley Donnelly
Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4503, Eau Claire | Directions
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Heather Fielding, Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Director, University Honors Program
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Frank Fucile, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4315, Eau Claire | Directions
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Karly Grice, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4116, Eau Claire | Directions
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Jon Heggestad
Associate Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4603, Eau Claire | Directions
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Dr. David Jones, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4402, Eau Claire | Directions
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Theresa Kemp, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4117, Eau Claire | Directions
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Liz Kitzmann
Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4310, Eau Claire | Directions
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Allyson Loomis, M.F.A.
Associate Professor
- Centennial Hall 4417, Eau Claire | Directions
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Sarita Mizin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4507, Eau Claire | Directions
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Sara Monahan
Visiting Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4404, Eau Claire | Directions
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Bob Nowlan, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4319, Eau Claire | Directions
- Office hours: On Fully Externally Funded 100% Leave for 2020-2022 Academic Years
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Joseph Orser
Senior Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4212, Eau Claire | Directions
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Joel Pace, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4511, Eau Claire | Directions
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Molly Patterson, M.F.A.
Associate Professor
- Centennial Hall 4217, Eau Claire | Directions
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Peter Reim
Lecturer
- Centennial Hall 4215, Eau Claire | Directions
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Cathy Rex, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4302, Eau Claire | Directions
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Jonathan Rylander, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor | Director of the Center for Writing Excellence
- Centennial Hall 4110, Eau Claire | Directions
- Centennial Hall 2427, Eau Claire | Directions
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Asha Sen, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4119, Eau Claire | Directions
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Matt Seymour, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4115, Eau Claire | Directions
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David Shih, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4311, Eau Claire | Directions
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Trevor Sprague
Visiting Assistant Professor
- Centennial Hall 4307, Eau Claire | Directions
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Andrew Suralski, M.A.
Lecturer | Assistant Director of the Center for Writing Excellence
- Centennial Hall 4703, Eau Claire | Directions
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Stacy Thompson, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4121, Eau Claire | Directions
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Stephanie Turner, Ph.D.
Professor
- Centennial Hall 4114, Eau Claire | Directions
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Blake Westerlund, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- Centennial Hall 4204, Eau Claire | Directions
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Lynsey Wolter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- Centennial Hall 4314, Eau Claire | Directions
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UW-Eau Claire - Barron County:
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Christy Potvin
Lecturer
- Ritzinger Hall 209, Rice Lake | Directions
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Jessica Wofford
Lecturer
- Meggers Hall 133, Rice Lake | Directions
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Kate Worzala
Lecturer
Retired/emeriti faculty members
Alea, Mary Ellen
Browne, T.A.
Bushnell, Jack
Clark, Wilma
Cronje, Ruth
Dale, Helen
Duyfhuizen, Bernard "Duffy"
Fessler, Audrey
Garland, Max
Haakenson, Bergine
Hale-Wilson, Kate
Hanson, Charles
Harder, Harry
Harder, Sarah
Hildebrand, John
Hilger, Michael
Hirsch, Tim
Hochstein, Gloria
Jackson, Alan
Jones, Eleanor
Kelly, Erna
Lauber, Peg
Loeb, Karen
Martin, Larry
Maxwell, Rhoda
Meiser, Mary
Onwueme, Tess
Pearson, Douglas
Preston, Elizabeth
Rubrecht, August
Schneider, Ralph
Shaddock, Jenny
Taylor, Bruce
Utschig, Anne
Waters, Douglas
Welch, Karen
Wood, Marty