Department of English
Alumni News
2008
Matthew J. Marr '97 completed a Ph.D. in contemporary Spanish literature and cultural studies at the University of Virginia.
His 2003 dissertation has been published as Postmodern Metapoetry and the Replenishment of the Spanish Lyrical Genre, 1980-2000 (La Sirena, 2007).
He's since held faculty positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern University, and Middlebury College,
and has just this year become an Assistant Professor of Spanish at The Pennsylvania State University,
where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on contemporary Spanish fiction, poetry, and film.
2007
Paula Lauritzen Delo '61 put her English degree to good use in jobs ranging from publishing to serving as communications director for several large, national organizations. Her last position was as Executive Editor of a scholarly press, where she was responsible for four peer-reviewed journals, one with a circulation of 165,000; a $2.3 million annual revenue book program; a 32-page monthly newspaper; and seven editorial boards, comprised of faculty from across the US. "Many thanks to the English Department," she says, "I have felt that my professors were always there with me throughout my career."
Victoria Williams Giraud '64 confirms that majoring in English was a good choice for her:
"I've used it in my career, almost all my life. The Flat Hat got me started and after relocating
to Southern California, I wrote and edited weekly newspapers and helped create and write various magazines.
I wrote and self-published an historical fiction novel, Melaynie's Masquerade, and am now involved
in editing and rewriting books for aspiring authors in almost every genre (70 so far!).
Thank you, Dr. Ball -- I had him for five classes! Look me up at www.victoria4edit.com. Bill Lawrence's show "Scrubs" films just a few blocks from my home!"
Steven Miller '72 has been teaching English at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He teaches folklore, literature, and writing courses, co-sponsors the English Club, and does pre-law advising. He lives in Lancaster County, noted for tourism, buggies, and shoo-fly pie. "Come visit!" he says.
Bernard L. Herman '73 went on to pursue a PhD in Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. He is now Chair and Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Art History at the University of Delaware. His books include Town House: Architecture and Material Life in the Early American City, 1780-1830 (2005), Everyday Architecture of The Mid-Atlantic (1997), The Stolen House (1992), A Land and Life Remembered: Americo-Liberian Folk Architecture (1989, with S. Holsoe and M. Belcher), and Architecture and Rural Life in Central Delaware, 1700-1900 (1987).
Greg Bartholomew '79 practiced law for 18 years but is now a full-time composer.
His choral works have been premiered by such ensembles as The Esoterics, the Oregon Repertory Singers, the Ars Brunensis Chorus, the William & Mary Choir, and the American University Chamber Singers, and have received performances by Seattle Pro Musica, Octarium, Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble, and the Seattle Bach Choir as well as readings by the Gregg Smith Singers and the Princeton Singers. His choral setting of text "From the Odes of Solomon" is available on CD from Capstone Records. Connecticut Choral Arts (Concora) released "The 21st Century (A Girl Born in Afghanistan)" on their CD "Songs and Stories of Liberation." Read more.
Lisa Sanders '79 worked for ABC News and CBS News following graduation, but ended up with a degree from Yale medical school in 1997. Her interests came together recently when she began writing a column called 'Diagnosis' for the New York Times. This column in turn inspired the television show 'House'.
Robert J. Whitaker '83 obtained a PhD in English from Princeton University in 1991, focusing on early modern and Renaissance culture and religion. His dissertation examined faith, ministry, and art in the work of George Herbert. In 1991 he began work as an ordained minister and became the founding pastor at St. John's Church in Virginia Beach.
Bill Lawrence, creator of the hit show Scrubs, continues a string of successes as a television producer. He was interviewed recently (5/07) in Blogcritics Magazine and appears here in a video interview.
Susan Young '88 has been working as a writer and editor at Harvard. In her spare time she takes photos. She writes, "My husband and I were in Williamsburg last December and I showed him around and we agreed that W&M must be one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. I felt most nostalgic when visiting Tucker Hall."
Brian Henry '94 published his fifth book of poetry, The Stripping Point, in February 2007. In 2005, he accepted a position as Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Richmond.
Casey Clabough '96 is currently an associate professor of English at Lynchburg College in Virginia. He serves as literature editor for the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities' Encyclopedia Virginia and is the author of The Warrior's Path: Reflections Along an Ancient Route (U. of Tennessee Press) and The Art of the Magic Striptease: The Literary Layers of George Garrett (U. Press of Florida).
Samuel Steele '97 has been serving as a naval flight surgeon attached to Carrier Air Wing Nine. He flies with and cares for three squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets and Superhornets stationed at the Navy's master jet base on the West Coast in Lemoore, CA. He is currently recovering from surgery he underwent following a shipboard mishap, but will soon join his air wing on board the John C. Stennis supporting maritime security and ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Julie Griffiths Maxfield '01 served at-risk high school students for three years near Portland, Oregon. She now works at Reed College in Career Services. She's also been working on an MA in American Literature from Portland State and owns a coffeeshop and vintage clothing store with her husband Jason ('02). She says the college setting makes her nostalgic for W&M.
Maayan Heller '02 completed an M.A. in Print & Multimedia Journalism at Emerson College in Boston in 2006 and has been writing freelance articles on health, fitness, and wellness since 2005. She also works full time as the Communications Coordinator at a private school on Chicago's northside.
Megan Gallagher Bailey '05 has recently started at the Christian Medical & Dental Associations as a web developer. She is currently house-hunting and continues to expand her personal library (hence the need for a big house).
Joseph Riippi '05 has been working as a freelance writer and advertising copywriter in New York. He has been writing about music and art for several small-run magazines ("available in only the most obscure Barnes and Noble magazine racks") and writing commercials for consumer ad agencies. He won the Farmhouse Magazine Annual Fiction Prize in July, and will begin part-time work towards an MFA in Fiction at the City College of NY in the fall of 2007. His apartment, he notes, is the same size as his room in Monroe.
2006
Gale Gibson Kohlhagen '69 received an Alumni Medallion for her dedication to the College as shown most recently in her work on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She has also served since 2000 on the National Council for the National Museum of the American Indian, and is the author (with Ellen Boraz Heinbach) of USNA: The United States Naval Academy (H.N. Abrams, 1995). She divides her time between Charleston, South Carolina and Chromo, Colorado.
Katherine Winfree '73 was appointed Maryland's Deputy Attorney General in November, 2006. Winfree studied law at the University of Oklahoma after attending William & Mary. She later became a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. before becoming deputy state's attorney in Montgomery County, Maryland in 1999. Her most famous case has been the beltway snipers.
Christopher Bram '74 continues to pen critically-acclaimed novels. His latest work, Lives of the Circus Animals, appeared in 2003.
Steve Otto '82 has returned to campus to help Arts and Sciences develop better web templates (such as the one you're viewing now) and to foster better communication among departments, development, and media relations.
Keith Clark '85 is now Associate Professor of English and African American Studies at George Mason University. He is author of Black Manhood in James Baldwin, Ernest J. Gaines and August Wilson (2002) and editor of Contemporary Black Men's Fiction and Drama (2001), both published by the University of Illinois Press.
William Clark now has his own literary agency. He is a conservator member of the Young Lions Program at the New York Public Library, a sponsor of The Moth, a member of the New York Shambhala Center, and Literary Curator of the New York club APT. He and his family live in Manhattan.
Ann R. Meyer '89 attended graduate school at the University of Chicago and is now Associate Professor of Literature at Claremont McKenna College. In 2003 she published Medieval Allegory and the Building of the New Jerusalem (D. S. Brewer).
Scott Moyers BA '90 MA '91 is now Editor-in-Chief at Penguin Press. He gave a presentation on campus at the 17th Ferguson Publishing Seminar entitled "The Role of the Book Editor."
Meaghan Hanrahan Dobson '91, winner of the 1991 Borish Prize and instructor at W. T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, has published an article in The English Journal entitled "Teacher to Teacher: What Book or Resource on the Teaching of Writing Would You Recommend to Other English Teachers?" (with Sara Dalmas Jonsberg, Katherine McCarthy, Marilyn J. Campbell, and Cheryl L. N. Lovegreen). Her article "(Re)considering Mary Lamb: Imagination and Memory in Mrs. Leicester's School" appeared earlier in The Charles Lamb Bulletin.
Deidre Mullane is now a literary agent with the Spieler Agency. Her book Crossing the Danger Water: Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing was published in 1993.
Patton Oswalt '91 still makes us laugh. He has appeared on television in The King of Queens and Mr. Show and in the films Ratatouille (2007), Failure to Launch (2006), Taxi (2004), and Starsky & Hutch (2004).
Jason B. Jones '93 is now Assistant Professor of English at Central Connecticut State University. His book Lost Causes: Historical Consciousness in Victorian Literature (Ohio State Press) appeared in October, 2006.
Jason Ross '95 has a new behind-the-scenes role on MTV's MADE, as music supervisor and multi-platform content producer. Seven Mary Three (7M3) will be releasing its sixth album soon.
Congratulations to Christy Wetzel '98, winner of the 2006 Young Lawyer of the Year Award, Virginia State Bar. Christy received her J.D. from Duke University Law School and currently serves as Chair of the Domestic Violence Safety Project.
Matt Shallenberger '00 continues to perform for Blue Man Group in Chicago. In July 2006 he was named one of Chicago's "most desirable singles" by Chicagomag.com. Here's his recent photography.
Adam Keith Pfeffer MA '02 is now Director of National Accounts at Time Warner Book Group. He previously worked at Harper Collins Publishers, Perseus Books Group, and Borders Group, Inc.
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