College Writing Faculty
John Hyman
Director, College Writing Program
MA, University of Maryland
jhyman@american.edu
John Hyman began teaching at American University in 1986. He has won several
teaching awards and was recognized for outstanding service to the university
community in 2000. He has directed the Writing Center since 1993, and in 2000
became the director of the College Writing Program. In addition to many courses
in writing, he has taught courses in American Studies, the Beat Generation,
and the history and literature of the Vietnam War. He did his graduate study
at the University of Maryland, where he met his wife, Betsy Alperin. Now he
and Betsy are somehow outnumbered by their sons, Jake (18) and Max (16).
Janet Auten
Director, Writing Center
PhD, Bowling Green State University
jauten@american.edu
Janet Gebhart Auten directs the Writing Center and teaches
the graduate Teaching Composition sequence. She holds an MA from the
University of Missouri School of Journalism and a PhD in Rhetoric/ Composition
and American Lit. from Bowling Green State University. Her published articles
concern nineteenth-century American women writers and teachers’ responses
to student writing, and her current project concerns the ways we talk about
academic writing.
Angela Dadak
International Student Coordinator
MA, Monterey Institute of International Studies
adadak@american.edu
Angela Dadak received her BA in Russian Area Studies from Dartmouth, and then,
after teaching English abroad in Poland and Peru, she returned to the US and
earned her MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from
the Monterey Institute of International Studies on the central coast of California.
In her position as International Student Coordinator for the CWP at AU, she
primarily works with students adjusting to US academic work and with the CWP
faculty who have international students in their classes. Outside of work,
she enjoys reading science fiction (good stuff and brain candy), watching movies
with her husband (the department’s film geek), and playing violin with
a local symphony orchestra.
Schedule
an appointment with Angela Dadak.
Cynthia Bair Van Dam
MA, American University
cbair@american.edu
Cindy Bair Van Dam joined the Department of Literature faculty in 1995. She
earned an MA from American University in 1993 and a BA from the University
of Nebraska in 1991. Prior to teaching at AU, she taught at Howard University.
Her professional interests include political rhetoric, children's literature,
and composition theory. Her less than professional interests revolve around
college football, pop culture (read: television advertising), and academic
novels.
Edward J. Comstock
MA, American University
ecomst@american.edu
Ed Comstock holds an MA in Literature from American University, and is an ABD
PhD in the Department of Education at American University. His dissertation
focuses on applications of the philosophy of Michel Foucault to education,
specifically looking at how Foucault can help us understand the ADHD phenomenon. In
addition, Ed holds a BS from James Madison University, where he double majored
in Sociology and English. He began teaching classes for the College
Writing Program in fall 2006.
Chuck Cox
MA, American University
ccox@american.edu
Chuck Cox received his MA in Literature from AU and his BA in English from
Temple University in Philadelphia, not far from his Pennsylvania hometown.
His academic interests include composition, drama, and the cultural roles of
popular genres (e.g. mystery, SF/fantasy, musical theater). These are frighteningly
close to his non-academic interests: reading mystery and fantasy novels, following
theater with obsessive avidity, watching too much British television, and fiction
writing.
Robert Drummond
MFA, George Mason
drummond@american.edu
Rob Drummond earned his MFA from George Mason University, where he also taught
expository and creative writing. Before that, he worked as a technical editor
in Los Angeles and a high school teacher in New Orleans. He is a voracious
reader of twentieth century American fiction, and when he’s not teaching,
he’s spending time with his wife and young son or working on his own
fiction writing.
Lydia Fettig
MFA, American University
fettig@american.edu
Lydia
Morris Fettig holds a BS in Social Science from Portland State University (in
Oregon, not Maine!) and an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. Prior
to teaching at AU, she taught writing and literature courses at University
of Maryland University College for four years. Her academic interests include
modern and post-modern literature, issues involving social and economic disparities,
deviance, and the American criminal justice system. Her personal interests
concern her family, animal rights, short story writing, and anything that makes
her laugh uncontrollably.
Leah Johnson
MA, American University
lajohns@american.edu
Leah Johnson holds an MA in Literature from American University and an MA in
Music from The University of Connecticut. She has been teaching in the Department
of Literature since 1996. In previous incarnations, Professor Johnson has been
a staff reporter for the Hartford Times Newspaper; Co-Founder, Producer and
Artistic Director of Dumbarton Concerts and Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now!
USA; and a teacher of piano and theory at the University of Connecticut, Maret
School, The Potomac School, and at her private studio. In addition to her teaching
at AU, she is a freelance writer and editor and conducts writing workshops
for the New Directions Program of The Washington Psychoanalytic Foundation.
Kelly Joyner
MFA, George Mason University
pjoyner@american.edu
Kelly Joyner began teaching at American University in 2000. His courses have
thematic links to psychology, sports, and history. Lately, he’s most
interested in the psychology of deceit in politics, sports, academia, and the
entertainment industry. He’s a product of the Northern Virginia suburbs
where he still lives with his wife and three kids. In his non-teaching hours,
he writes poetry and fiction and plays music.
Jocelyn McCarthy
MFA, American University
Jocelyn.McCarthy@american.edu
Jocelyn McCarthy received her BA in English from Cornell University and her
MFA in Creative Writing from American University. She writes fiction
and nonfiction, and is currently at work on several projects. She has
lived and worked in Thailand, and traveled extensively in south and southeast
Asia. Her interests include running, yoga, and spending time with her
husband.
Glenn Moomau
MFA, University of Maryland, College Park
gmoomau@american.edu
Glenn Moomau has taught at American University since 1995. His book from Apathy
Poets Press, Ted Nugent Condominium, profiling a young rock'n roll
band as they criss-cross the American landscape in search of an audience, was
published in the winter of 2001.
Randon Noble
MFA, New York University
rnoble@american.edu
Randon Billings Noble received her BA from the University of Michigan and her
MFA in fiction from New York University, where she taught creative and expository
writing before coming to AU in 2001. She has also taught Shakespeare classes
in NYU's Summer in London program as well as creative writing courses in summer
programs at Amherst, Williams and Bennington College. Interested in visual
as well as textual forms of nonfiction, she writes familiar essays and makes
short documentary films. She is currently working on an essay collection
called The Summer before Marriage.
Trisha
Reichler
MA, American University
MA, Catholic University
treichler100@aol.com
Trisha Reichler joined the faculty as an adjunct in 2000 and became a full-time
instructor in 2003. She holds an MA in Literature from American University,
an MA in Education from Catholic University and a BA in English from George
Washington University. After teaching middle and high school English, she
took a slight detour from the education setting and spent fifteen
years as the director of various civil rights programs for state and local
governments. Her primary research interests are the writings of nonviolent
resistance and composition theory. Her primary non-research interest
is her family. Her daughter, a college junior, constantly reminds her how complicated
the life of a college student can be.
Adam Tamashasky
MFA, American University
atamashasky@yahoo.com
Adam Tamashasky graduated from the University of Dayton with a BA in English,
then followed that rousing triumph with his MFA in Creative Writing from American
in 2002. Now he's returned to AU with the College Writing Program, a
fact which thrills him. Academically, he loves modern American fiction, poetry,
the Romantics, and just about anything else inked onto a page. When
not reveling in the Ivory Tower, Adam works on his fiction, spends afternoons
at the movies, and plays a surprising amount of Xbox. Sara, his wife and a
native New Yorker, turned him into a Yankees fan."
Alison Thomas
MFA, America University
Alison.Thomas@american.edu
Alison Thomas earned a BA in English and Spanish from Cornell University. She
completed her MFA in creative writing at American University. Currently
she is at work on revising her first book, a collection of linked short stories
called “Our People.” She has taught College Writing at AU
since 2005 and has previously taught Spanish language classes. Her interests
include ethnography, trashy pop-culture, humor writing, translation and the
Red Sox.
Marshall Warfield
MFA, University of Pittsburgh
Marshall.warfield@yahoo.com
Marshall Warfield received his BA from Carnegie Mellon in 1999 and his MFA
from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. Before teaching at American University,
he taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania Writing
Project. He writes poetry and nonfiction essays. He is interested in composition
theory and how people discuss the concept of privacy.
Lacey Wootton-Don
MA, American University
lwoott@american.edu
Lacey Wootton-Don completed her MA in Literature at AU in 1999 and has taught
in the College Writing Program since then. Prior to her time at AU, she earned
a BA in English from U.C. Berkeley, worked in publishing for two years, and
returned to Berkeley to earn her teaching credential in English through the
Bay Area Writing Project. She taught English in Northern California and on
U.S. military bases in the Philippines, northern Japan, and Okinawa. Her teaching
and research interests include issues of classroom authority and ways to encourage
students to engage in more intellectually based (as opposed to purely skills-based
or formulaic) writing practices.
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