Academics > Faculty

English Faculty

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 computer applications in writing. These applications include writing hypertext fiction. He is the founder of The Coe Review, the college's nationally known literary magazine.

Robert D. Drexler
Whipple Professor of English
B.A. Amherst College
M.A. University of Iowa
Ph.D. University of Chicago

Author of two poetry chapbooks, Dr. Drexler has been director of the ACM Japan studies Program, director of the India Studies Program at Puna, and a Fulbright Lecturer at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. He teaches Early Modern British, Medieval English, 20th Century British, Irish and Asian Literature.

Carol Gorman
Instructor in English
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 Gender Studies Program. One of her most recent books is Stumptown Kid, a novel about an interracial friendship in a small Midwestern town in the 1950s.

Gina Hausknecht
Professor of English, Chair
B.A. Oberlin College
M.A., Ph.D. University of Michigan

Dr. Hausknecht teaches early modern British literature, including Shakespeare, British Renaissance poetry, and the Milton seminar. She also regularly teaches in the gender studies and First Year Seminar programs. She has published articles on Milton, 17th century literature and culture, pedagogy and technology, and girls in contemporary popular culture.

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. He is the current manager of the on-line archive, the Sarah Orne Jewett Text Project. Dr. Heller teaches Russian, American, and popular literature. One of his favorite courses is Monsters in Film.

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 Keilor and a film based on a monlogues was released in 1999. Professor Mennenga teaches film and creative writing and is the academic advisor for Coe's nationally circulated magazine, the Coe Review. His academic interests include hip hop music and popular culture.

Patrick Naick
Assistant Professor of English
B.A. University of California, Berkeley
M.A. Purdue University
Ph.D. University of Iowa

Patrick Naick's teaching and research focuses on 20th century American literature and culture with specific interests in African American literature and urban studies.  He also serves as coordinator for the American Studies and African American Studies program.

Melissa Sodeman
Assistant Professor of English
B.A. University of Washington, Seattle
M.A. Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Melissa Soderman joined the Coe English faculty in 2007. She studies 18th century and Romantic literature, with particular interest in sentimental literature, the history of the novel, gender studies, and the history of the book. At Coe she teaches courses on 18th century and 19th century fiction, Romantic literature, and women writers.

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, and is the faculty advisor for students and faculty who apply for Fulbright Fellowships.  She teaches creative writing, modern American literature, and Middle Eastern Literature.