Professors: Colby, Duncan, English, Gilbert, Grathwohl, Jackson, Walton, Webb
Associate Professors: Fine, Johnson
Assistant Professors: Britt, Roberts, Wofford
Adjunct faculty: Beaty, Becksford, Blythe, Botvinick, Cockshutt, Hogan, Roe, Rosser

Freda Beaty, Ph.D. (2006)
Adjunct faculty. A.B., A.M. Florida Atlantic University; Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Beaty teaches English 200.

Lisa Becksford (2009)

Adjunct Faculty.  A.B. Meredith College (2007),  A.M. North Carolina State University.  Ms. Becksford's graduate studies have focused on medieval literature, her thesis addressed the Middle English poem Sir Tristrem. She belongs to a book club comprised of fellow Meredith English alums, and she is delighted to be back in the halls of Joyner.  She likes to bake breads and tweak old recipes.  She also makes beaded jewelry.  She will be teaching ENG111.

Jill Blythe, A.M. (2006)
Adjunct faculty. A.B. UNC Wilmington; A.M.; UNC Charlotte
Ms. Blythe has taught high school English for fifteen years. She enjoys writing memoirs and poetry and reading Southern literature. Ms. Blythe teaches composition.

Risa Botvinick (2007)

Instructor of English.  A.B, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Spanish), A.M., North Carolina State University (English).

Ms. Botvinick teaches composition. As a member of the NCSU faculty, Ms. Botvinick taught courses in grammar, composition, and American literature.  Her favorite sport is bowling.  She loves the theatre, one dog, all cats, friends, and family – especially her devoted husband and entertaining children.  She hopes to be a cat in her next life and a grandparent in this life.   

Suzanne Britt, A.M. (1987)
Assistant Professor of English. A.B. Salem College; A.M. Washington University. Ms. Britt teaches literature, writing courses, and Core 100. Ms. Britt also advises The Meredith Herald and The Colton Review. Her poems have appeared in literary magazines; her essays and articles have appeared in various newspapers and magazines. She is the author of several books, including Show and Tell, A Writer’s Rhetoric, and Images: A Centennial Journey. Her essays have been widely reprinted in college textbooks. She has recently completed a novel and is currently working on her poetry.

Carmen Christopher (2007) A.B. University of North Carolina at Greensboro; A.M. North Carolina State University. Ms. Christopher teaches English composition. Her reviews and articles have been published in Issues in Writing, The Writing Lab Newsletter, and the National Academic Advising Association Journal. She loves writing, reading, playing guitar and boating.  She is on leave while pursuring further graduate studies.  Ms. Christopher is currently on leave to pursue further graduate study.

Rod Cockshutt (1981-84; 1986-2001; 2002-present)
Adjunct faculty. A.B. Washington & Lee University; A.M. Duke University (course work only)
Mr. Cockshutt teaches courses in editing and journalism.

Robin Colby, Ph.D. (1988)
Professor of English. A.B. Meredith College; A.M. North Carolina State University; Ph.D. Duke University. Dr. Colby specializes in nineteenth-century British literature, and she is currently serving as department head. She teaches British literature European seminar, Victorian literature, and Techniques of Research. Her book, Some Appointed Work to Do: Women and Vocation in the Fiction of Elizabeth Gaskell, was published by Greenwood Press in 1995. She enjoys gardening, collects pottery, and loves all things Victorian.

Rebecca Duncan, Ph.D. (1997)
Professor of English. A.B., A.M. Ohio University; A.M. University of South Florida; Ph.D. Florida State University.
Dr. Duncan is the Norma Rose Professor of English.  She teaches British literature, professional writing courses, and Core 400. She has published essays on Margaret Atwood, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Chaucer, contemporary literary theory, and hypertext. In the summer of 2003, she spent two weeks teaching English in Cochabamba, Bolivia at the Universidad Mayor de San Simon. In the summer of 2009 she traveled to Morocco to meet Leila Abouzeid, an author whose fiction she teaches in her course on colonial/postcolonial literature. Click here to view photos of her visit.  Her essay entitled "Life of Pi as Postmodern Survival Narrative appeared in Mosaic in June 2008.  She is also a tennis mom. 

Sarah English, Ph.D. (1979)
Professor of English. A.B. Duke University, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. English teaches courses in British literature and film. Dr. English has written about Larry McMurtry and Anne Tyler and admires both writers. She loves traveling, walking on the beach, going to plays and movies, and reading fiction. Dr. English is on leave for fall semester 2008.

Laura Fine, Ph.D. (2007)
Associate Professor of English. B.A. University of Minnesota; M.A., Ph.D. University of California, Davis. Dr. Fine teaches American literature and core courses. She has published articles on Southern literature and on autobiography. She enjoys music, movies, watching and playing soccer and tennis, and chasing her toddler.

Susan Gilbert, Ph.D. (1966)
Professor of English. A.B. Duke University, A.M. University of Virginia, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Gilbert teaches American literature, twentieth-century literature, Southern literature, and world literature.

Eloise Grathwohl, Ph.D. (1990)
Professor of English. A.B., A.M., Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Grathwohl specializes in Old and Middle English language and literature. In 1999 she received the Laura Harrill Presidential Award for her work as director of the Honors Program. She teaches Old English, Chaucer, English 202, and composition.  She recently led a study abroad program in Iceland.

Ashley Hogan (2001)

Adjunct faculty. A.B. Appalachian State University, A.M. North Carolina State University. Ms. Hogan teaches composition and literature classes. She also organizes and facilitates Meredith's annual summer creative writing workshop for women and the Meredith Young Writers' Camp for girls. When Ms. Hogan is not spending time with her husband and three children, you will find her reading, writing, or sewing. When Ms. Hogan is not being creative or productive, you will find her watching bad reality television, playing silly games on her iPhone, or reading blogs.  

Jean Jackson, Ph.D. (1983)
Vice President for College Programs, Professor of English. A.B. Meredith College; A.M., Ph.D. University of Illinois. Dr. Jackson takes time from her administrative duties to teach American literature and Romantic poetry. She also directs a faculty performance of Alice in Wonderland every four years.

Alisa Johnson, Ph.D. (1998)
Associate Professor of English. A.B. Guilford College; A.M., Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Johnson teaches American and African American literature, as well as feminist theory. Her essays and entries on African American writers have been published in Modern Fiction, The Reference Guides to Modern and Short American Fiction, and The Oxford Companion to Women’s Writing. She loves movies, dance, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Kelly Roberts, Ph.D. (2006)
Assistant Professor of English. A.B. Meredith College; A.M. North Carolina State University, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Roberts teaches composition and literature classes, as well as The Methods of Teaching English.  Dr. Roberts serves as program coordinator for 6-9 and 9-12 English licensure for prospective teachers.  Her research interests include written reflections of pre-service and in-service teachers, portfolio assessment, teacher education, composition studies in secondary and post-secondary settings, and retention of beginning teachers.

Eric Roe (2009)

Adjunct faculty. A.B. Oregon State University, M.F.A. Creative Writing, North Carolina State University. Mr. Roe's fiction has appeared in numerous journals, including Barrelhouse and ReDivider.  One of his stories was reprinted in Best American Fantasy Anthology, much to his surprise. He says he did not set out to write a fantasy story.  Mr. Roe is learning to play the guitar, and he is currently writing a novel. He will be teaching ENG111. 

Lou Rosser, A.M. (1991)
Adjunct faculty. A.B. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; A.M. North Carolina State University. Ms. Rosser taught high school for many years.  She enjoys writing groups and book clubs as well as keeping a journal and teaching the art of journal writing. Ms. Rosser teaches literature and writing courses.

Garry Walton, Ph.D. (1983)
Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of English. A.B., A.M., Ph.D. University of Virginia.
Dr. Walton has served as head of the department and director of the college Honors program. He has published essays on Shakespeare, performance, and pedagogy and teaches courses on Shakespeare and other British authors.

Betty Webb, Ph.D. (1971) (1974)
Professor of English and Director Study Abroad Program. A.B. Meredith College; A.M. North Carolina State University, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Webb teaches Irish literature and modern poetry, as well as Honors courses, including What’s News. As director of the Study Abroad program, she helps students see the world through study in foreign countries. A Danforth Fellow, she has been the recipient of the Pauline Perry Award for Excellence in Teaching.  Dr. Webb will be spending the semester in Sansepulco, Italy, where she is starting up a semester-long study abroad program. 

Joe Wofford, Ph.D. (2005)
Assistant Professor of English. A.B., A.M. North Carolina State University; Ph.D. UNC Greensboro
He teaches composition and English 200.