Faculty
English Faculty
Dr. Janet Blank-Libra
Associate Professor, Director of Journalism
605.274.5436
janet.blank-libra@augie.edu
Janet Blank-Libra teaches courses in journalism as well as foundational courses in composition and literature. She also regularly teaches courses in literary journalism and creative nonfiction, as well as the Civitas literature course. She was the 2005 recipient of the Vernon and Mildred Niebuhr Faculty Excellence Award and the 2008 recipient of the Augustana Student Association teaching award. Her interests include creative nonfiction, science fiction and the social dimensions of journalism. Dr. Blank-Libra’s Ph.D. in journalism is from Southern Illinois University.
Dr. Nancy Dickinson
Instructor, Director of the Writing Center
605.274.5439
nancy.dickinson@augie.edu
Nancy Dickinson teaches grammar and composition courses. She also oversees the tutoring program provided through the Writing Center and, with Janet Blank-Libra, offers seminars to fellow faculty on teaching writing in individual disciplines. Her areas of intererst include transformational grammar, science fiction and film. Dr. Dickinson’s Ed.S. in English education is from Appalachian State University.
J.J. Gohl
Instructor
605.274.5400
jj.gohl@augie.edu
J.J. Gohl teaches foundational courses in composition and literature, as well as the methods class for English students going into secondary education. Her M.A. in English is from Southwest State University (Minn.)
Dr. Debbie Hanson
Professor
605.274.5435
debbie.hanson@augie.edu
Debbie Hanson teaches the survey course in American literature as well as upper-level seminars on early American literature and modern American literature and courses in world literature. She also teaches classes on creative writing for the stage and screen, musical films and theatre, and food in American culture, in addition to foundational courses in composition and literature. Her interests include folklore, Great Plains literature, Civil War literature, and contemporary drama. She is the editor of the collection Cather Yearbook (Edwin Mellen Press, 1990), and she is currently working on a project dealing with Thanksgiving in American popular culture. Dr. Hanson’s Ph.D. in English is from the University of Illinois.
Dr. Mitchell Harris
Assistant Professor
605.274.4699
mitchell.harris@augie.edu
Mitchell Harris teaches the survey course in British literature as well as upper-level seminars on early British literature and modern British literature and the Shakespeare seminar. He also teaches foundational courses in composition and literature. His areas of interest include the poetry of John Donne and John Milton, Shakespeare, and medieval and Renaissance drama. Dr. Harris’ Ph.D. in English is from the University of Texas.
Dr. Patrick Hicks
Associate Professor and Augustana Writer-in-Residence
605.274.5434
patrick.hicks@augie.edu
Patrick Hicks teaches the survey course in British literature as well as upper-level seminars on early British literature and modern British literature. He also teaches foundational courses in composition and literature and advanced composition, in addition to the capstone course “Great Britain and the Great War” and the Civitas course “Eleutheria: Freedom and Literature.” Dr. Hicks is the author of several collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Finding the Gossamer (Salmon Publishing , 2008), as well as numerous individually published poems, essays and interviews. He is also the author of Brian Moore and the Meaning of the Past (Mellen Press, 2007) . Dr. Hicks’ Ph.D. in English is from the University of Sussex (U.K.).
Cheryl Jackson Nelson
Instructor
605.274.5416
cheryl.jackson@augie.edu
Cheryl Jackson Nelson teaches courses in composition, general literature, and world literature. She has also taught interim courses on detective and crime fiction, as well as food in American culture. Her M.Ed. is from the University of Sioux Falls.
Dr. Sandra Looney
Professor
605.274.5430
sandra.looney@augie.edu
Sandra Looney teaches courses in nonwestern literature, including the literatures of India, Japan and Russia, world literature, Shakespeare, and advanced composition, in addition to foundational courses in composition and literature. She has also taught the capstone courses “The Gender Knot” and “Light in the Darkness: Good and Evil in the 20th Century,” as well as the Civitas literature course. She was the 2000 recipient of the Vernon and Mildred Niebuhr Faculty Excellence Award. Dr. Looney’s Ph.D. in English is from the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Jeffrey Miller
Associate Professor and Department Chair
605.274.5431
jeffrey.miller@augie.edu
Jeffrey Miller teaches courses in journalism as well as foundational courses in composition and literature. He also teaches American film and the capstone course “Cinema, Character and Culture,” in addition to the “Reading Augustana” course in the Civitas program, of which he is director. His areas of interest include transnational television and film, and American media history. He is the author of Something Completely Different: British Television and American Culture (University of Minnesota Press, 2000). Dr. Miller’s Ph.D. in American Studies is from Michigan State University.
Dr. Darcie Rives-East
Assistant Professor
605.274.5422
darcie.rives@augie.edu
Darcie Rives-East teaches the survey course in American literature as well as upper-level seminars on early American literature and modern American literature. She also teaches literary criticism and theory, in addition to foundational composition and literature courses. She also teaches the Civitas course “Race and Justice in America: 1600-Present,” and is faculty advisor to Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Her areas of interest include women’s and ethnic studies and popular culture, with a particular emphasis on speculative and Gothic literature and film. Dr. Rives-East’s Ph.D. in English is from the University of Nebraska.
Journalism Faculty
Dr. Janet Blank-Libra
Associate Professor, Director of Journalism
605.274.5436
janet.blank-libra@augie.edu
Janet Blank-Libra teaches news writing, advanced journalism, photojournalism, law and ethics, and magazine writing. She also coordinates internships offered through the program and serves as adviser to the college yearbook, the Edda. Janet worked as a writer for University Relations at South Dakota State University and as a weekly newspaper editor for the RFD News Group. Her articles have appeared in numerous local and regional publications. She is currently working on a book-length project dealing with compassion in journalism. Janet’s Ph.D. is in journalism from Southern Illinois University.
Dr. Jeffrey Miller
Associate Professor
605.274.5431
jeffrey.miller@augie.edu
Jeffrey Miller teaches news writing, copy editing, layout and design, sports writing, critical and editorial writing, and history of the American press. He also serves as adviser to the college newspaper, the Mirror. Jeffrey worked as director of news services at Gustavus Adolphus College and as alumni magazine editor at Lafayette College (Penn.). His reviews and opinion pieces have appeared in newspapers including the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. He has also written for numerous local and regional publications. Jeffrey’s Ph.D. is in American Studies from Michigan State University.