Kate Aspengren, Adjunct Instructor in English
B. A. University of Iowa
M.F.A. University of Iowa, Iowa Playwrights' Workshop

Ms. Aspengren's plays have been published by Samuel French and are regularly produced throughout the country. Some have been translated for European production. Her plays have been produced at the West End Theatre in New York, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Loft Theatre at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts, and the New American Comedy Festival. She is a founding member of the Kingston Springs Writers Group and a member of the Dramatists Guild. She teaches creative writing classes.

Charles Aukema, Professor of English
A.B. Calvin College
M.F.A. University of Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop

In addition to teaching creative writing, Professor Aukema teaches studies computer applications in writing. These include writing hypertext fiction. He is the founder of The Coe Review, the college's nationally known literary magazine.

Carol Gorman
B.A. University of Iowa

Ms. Gorman has published more than 35 novels for young readers.  These books have won numerous awards, including New York City Public Library's Books for the Teen Age, American Library Association's Children's and Young Adult Choice Awards, American Booksellers' Pick of the Lists, and honorable mention from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. Her books have sold to publishers in England, France, Germany, Sweden, and Finland. She teaches creative writing and courses in the Genders Studies Program. One of her more recent books is Stumptown Kid, a novel about an interracial friendship in a small Midwestern town in the 1950s.

Personal Web site

Terry Heller, Howard Hall Professor of English
A.B. North Central College
A.M., Ph.D. University of Chicago

Dr. Heller is author of The Delights of Terror and The Turn of the Screw: Bewildered Vision,  and editor of Sarah Orne Jewett's The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Fiction.  He has written reference articles, short fiction, and literary journal essays. Stories written by his fantasy-writing students since 1991 appear in the on-line magazine, Fantasticoe.

Personal Web site

Robert Marrs, The Esther & Robert Armstrong Professor of Rhetoric; Director of Writing Center
B.A., Kansas State University
M.A., Ph.D., Washington State University

Dr. Marrs is the Director of the Writing Center, and coordinator of the college's Writing-Across-the-Curriculum program.

Gordon Mennenga, Assistant Professor of English
B.A. University of Northern Iowa
M.F.A. University of Iowa, Iowa Writers' Workshop

Professor Mennenga is a fiction writer whose short story, "Peepers" won a Nelson Algren Award. He has written monologues for Garrison Keillor and a film based on a monologue was released in 1999.  Professor Mennenga teaches film and creative writing. His academic interests include hip hop music and popular culture.

Kerrie Sue Miller, Adjunct Instructor in Rhetoric
B.A., Fayetteville State University
M.A., Iowa State University
Iowa Teaching License: University of Iowa

Ms. Miller teaches Introduction to Journalism, Journalism Workshop, and Technical Writing.

Personal Web site

Jane Nesmith, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
B.A., The College of Wooster
M.A., Indiana University
Ph.D., University of Iowa

Dr. Nesmith, Chair of the Rhetoric Department, teaches Rhetorical Theory and Practice, Professional Writing, and Advanced Writing Workshop. She is also the faculty advisor for The Pearl.

Personal Web site

Karla Steffens-Moran, Instructor in Rhetoric
B.A., Southern Illinois University
M.A., The Johns Hopkins University
M.F.A., University of Iowa

Ms. Steffens-Moran teaches Seminars in Writing, Fundamentals of Public Speaking, and Honors Composition.

Ann Struthers, Writer-in-Residence and Visiting Professor of English
B.A. Morningside College
M.A., Ph.D. University of Iowa

Founding faculty advisor for The Pearl, Dr. Struthers is the author of two chapbooks and two collections of poetry. She has published numerous book reviews, articles in literature reference books, academic essays, and short fiction. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Syria and in Sri Lanka.  She teaches creative writing, modern American literature, and Middle Eastern Literature.

Mary Taylor, Instructor in Rhetoric
B.S.N., University of Iowa
J.D., University of Iowa
M.A., Univeristy of Iowa

Ms. Taylor teaches Reading/Writing Workshop, Seminars in Writing, Writers' Studio, and Propoganda and Persuasion.