Professor
RUC-English, Dept of
9th Floor, Rm 927
Radford University Carilion
Hello! As a professor based at the Radford University Carilion campus, I work with both undergraduate and graduate students, primarily in the sciences and health professions. I love science and teaching students how to effectively research, write and communicate complex scientific concepts and ideas to the audiences that they will encounter in their practice of medicine, healthcare and public health. My interest in science extends to my own research and creative work as a scholar, novelist and short story writer. I am a past winner of the Omega Sci-Fi "Women Hold Up Half the Sky" Science Fiction Award and the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, and my published research areas include health humanities, narrative medicine and collaboration between the humanities and STEM. My other area of major scholarly interest and publication is literary travel and tourism. My specialties include Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the rest of the Modernist expatriate writers who traveled the world as part of the Lost Generation. I have presented my research in a variety of interesting places, including France, Croatia, Iceland, Egypt and more. I hope to see you in my classes!
Principles of College Composition (ENGL 111): In this course, we explore strategies for developing writing skills, honing the fundamentals of composition and finding your voice as a writer.
Critical Reading and Writing in the Digital Age (ENGL 112): In this course, we practice research skills and think about how to build thoughtful, effective and research-informed arguments.
Narratives of Illness, Disability and Caretaking (ENGL 210 / HHUM 210): In this health humanities course, we discover what the humanities can teach us about the culture of care by reading narratives about illness, caretaking and disability.
Studies in Composition - Science/Fiction (ENGL 313): One of my favorites! In this course, we study the history of science fiction beginning with Frankenstein and extending through the golden age of the genre during the 1940s-1960s. We discuss the many fascinating ways in which science fiction has informed ideas that eventually became science fact.
Studies in Composition - Science Writing (ENGL 313): In this course, we explore readings in different genres of science writing and examine the landscape and current conversations in climate science, technology, medicine and space. Per aspera, ad astra!
Communication in Health Sciences (HSCI 325): In this team-taught course, we practice writing and communication skills, we learn the history of public health communication (by studying disease outbreaks and plagues!) and discover the art behind the science of crafting effective public health messaging.
Health Humanities Minor Co-Director: I guide students through our health humanities minor and teach our capstone research course.
Graduate Capstone Committee Member/Chair: I work with our health sciences and public health graduate students to develop, revise and, finally, defend their research projects.
Curriculum Committee Chair: Along with my colleagues in the School of Writing, Language and Literature (SWLL), I help with the creation of exciting new courses and programs for our students, as well as regular revisions and updates to our catalog.
Faculty Senate Executive Council Officer: I serve on the Radford University Faculty Senate Executive Committee as secretary, help develop our yearly agenda and structure our shared governance meetings.
Operations Advisory Group Member: I serve on this group at Radford University Carilion (RUC) to help with coordinating operations for our nursing, public health and allied health programs at Community Hospital and the Roanoke Higher Education Center.
Faculty Interviewer: Every year, I help interview candidates for our very competitive Physician Assistant master's program. It's exciting to meet so many talented applicants who hope to join us at Radford University!