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Department of Writing & Language Studies College of Liberal Arts

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Dr. Colin Charlton
Chair
Department of Writing and Language Studies
ELABS 329
Email: colin.charlton@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3441
Phone Alt: (956) 882-8246
Text: (956) 250-5613
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Faculty, Teaching Assistants, and Affiliated Faculty

Faculty

Dr. Pamela Anderson-Mejías

Dr. Pamela Anderson-Mejías
Professor / Senior Associate Dean & Associate Dean for Graduate Studies

Areas of Expertise: Applied & sociolinguistics; Online learning, LMLS

Office: ELABS 242

Email:
pamela.andersonmejias@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3424

Nayelly Barrios

Nayelly Barrios
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Creative Writing; Code-Switching

Office: ELABS 245

Email:
nayelly.barrios@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-2374

Triauna Carey

Triauna Carey
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition

Office: ELABS 329

Email:
triauna.carey01@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3441

Dr. Alyssa Cavazos

Dr. Alyssa Cavazos
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: Writing Studies and First-Year Writing; Translingual Writing and Pedagogies; Writing Across the Curriculum; Border rhetorics; Teacher Preparation

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
Tue 8:15am-9:15am; 10:45a-11:45a

Office: ELABS 270A

Email:
alyssa.cavazos@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8779

Dr. Colin Charlton

Dr. Colin Charlton
Professor / Department Chair

Areas of Expertise: Writing Pedagogy; Writing Program Administration; Teacher Professional Development; Assessment; Multimodality

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
Thursday 11:00am-2:00pm

 

Office: ELABS 329

Email:
colin.charlton@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3441

Dr. Katherine Christoffersen

Dr. Katherine Christoffersen
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise: second language acquisition; sociolinguistics; bilingualism; language and identity; conversation analysis, discourse analysis, ethnography

Office: ELABS 226

Email:
katherine.christoffersen@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8102

Dr. José Dávila-Montes

Dr. José Dávila-Montes
Professor

Areas of Expertise: Translation Studies; Cross-cultural Studies; Compared Rhetoric

Office:
BMAIN 1.526

Email:
jose.davila@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8215

Thomas De La Cruz

Thomas De La Cruz
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Writing studies, and Code-Switching

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
 M&W 9:00-9:30 zoom ID 332035840 &1:45-2:30 (ELABS 266) T 12:15-1:15 (HCH) & R 1:30-2:30 (zoom)

Office: ELABS 266

Email:
thomas.delacruz@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8781

Norma Denae Dibrell

Norma Denae Dibrell
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: composition studies, transfer studies, translingual pedagogy, translingual theory, antiracist pedagogy, decolonial theory

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
 T&R 7:30am - 8:00am & 12:30pm - 2:00 pm & by appt.

Office: ELABS 266B

 

Email:
norma.dibrell@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8782

Dr. Sheila Dooley

Dr. Sheila Dooley
Associate Professor / Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies

Areas of Expertise: Linguistics, typology, syntax, sociolinguistics, language acquisition

Office: BMAIN 1.534

Email:
sheila.dooley@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7110

Dr. Minhee Eom

Dr. Minhee Eom
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: Language testing, English as a Second Language, quantitative research

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M&W 11:00am-12:20pm & T&R by appointment

Office: ELABS 241

Email:
minhee.eom@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3424

Marianita Escamilla

Marianita Escamilla
Senior Lecturer

Areas of Expertise: Literary Nonfiction; Service Leaning; Nonprofits; Popular Culture

Office: ELABS 205A

Email:
marianita.escamilla@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8771

Shoney Flores

Shoney Flores
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Creative Writing Theory and Pedagogy; Rhetoric and Composition Pedagogy; Online and Hybrid Pedagogy; Literary Translation; Developmental Education Pedagogy

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M 10:00am-12:30pm, W 2:00pm - 4:30 pm

Office: ELABS 270

Email:
shoney.flores@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-2373

Dr. John Foreman

Dr. John Foreman
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: Theoretical linguistics; syntax; documenting endangered languages; indigenous languages of the Americas; Zapotec

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
T 4:00pm -5:00 pm & R 12:30pm -2:30 pm

Office: ELABS 231

Email:
john.foreman@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3427

Amy Frazier

Amy Frazier
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Short stories - fiction about the people of the Rio Grande Valley

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M&W 3:30pm -5:30pm by appt.

Office: BSABH 2.420

Email:
amy.frazier@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8843

Dr. Nazaret Fresno Cañada

Dr. Nazaret Fresno Cañada
Associate Professor / Associate Chair

Areas of Expertise: Audiovisual translation, media accessibility, audio description, closed captioning, live subtitling

Office: BMAIN 1.528

Email:
nazaret.fresno@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7450

Bonnie Garcia

Bonnie Garcia
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Composition Pedagogy; Gamification; Discourse Analysis

Spring 2023 
Office Hours: 
M&W 2:00-4:00 zoom https://utrgv.zoom.us/j/ 83843388568 T&R 3:00-4:00 pm ELABS 271 F 2:00-5:00 pm via zoom

Office: ELABS 271

Email:
bonnie.garcia@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3335

Dennis Garza

Dennis Garza
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
 T&R 1:00-3:00 pm

Office: BSABH 2.202

Email:
dennis.garza@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8246

 Dr. Gabriel González Núñez

Dr. Gabriel González Núñez
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: Translation & interpreting; Legal translation; Court interpreting; Translation policy

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
Wednesday 9:00am-12:00 pm

Office: BMAIN 1.520

Email:
gabriel.gonzaleznunez@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7658

Joshua Gray

Joshua Gray
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Creative Writing - Fiction

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T&R 2:00pm-4:00 pm

Office: ELABS 270B

Email:
josh.gray@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8779

Tomas Guerrero

Tomas Guerrero
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Metacognitive Studies; Practical application of theory (Praxis)

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M&W 2:00pm-3:00pm T&R 11:00am-12:00pm

Office: ELABS 268B

Email:
tomas.guerrero@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8773

Dr. Tekla Hawkins

Dr. Tekla Hawkins
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise: rhetoric, new media, feminism, composition

Office: ELABS 267

Email:
tekla.hawkins@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3447

Marcela Hebbard

Marcela Hebbard
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Online writing, translingualism, teacher preparation, second language writing, composition pedagogies, second language acquisition and writing development, transnational writing

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M&W 1302 students 12:00 pm-1:00pm & 3370 students 1:00pm-2:00pm through Zoom; T&R  3:30-4:30 pm (In-office)

Office: ELABS 271

Email:
marcela.hebbard@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3335

Miriam Herrera

Miriam Herrera
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Composition & Rhetoric; Poetry Writing; Creative Writing; Mexican American Literature; Contemporary American Poetry

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T&R 2:00pm -5:00 pm by zoom appointment

Office: ELABS 205A

Email:
maria.herrera@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8771

Pamela Herring

Pamela Herring
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition, Environmental Studies

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
 W 12:30pm-2:00pm;  R 12:30pm-2:00pm & 3:15pm-4:15 pm

Office: BSABH 2.410

Email:
pamela.herring@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8884

Stefanie Herweck

Stefanie Herweck
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Environmental Studies

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M&W 2:40pm-4:00pm (zoom) T&R 3:30pm-4:30pm (ELABS 245)

Office: ELABS 245

Email:
stefanie.herweck@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-2374

Dr. Andrew Hollinger

Dr. Andrew Hollinger
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: de/re-professionalization of the "teaching class" (articulation of the interstices between teacher/institution/stakeholder/policy); writing programs + WPA issues; event theory + public rhetoric

Office: ELABS 266

Email:
andrew.hollinger@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8781

Danyal Howard

Danyal Howard
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T,R,F, zoom upon request

Office: ELABS 329

Email:
danyal.howard01@utrgv.edu

Cynthia Lopez Guerrero

Cynthia Lopez Guerrero
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Observing and discussing freshmen learning and writing habits as well as teacher pedagogies and practices.

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M&W 2:00-3:00 pm T&R 11:00-12:00 pm

Office: ELABS 269

Email:
cynthia.l.guerrero@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8975

Shaun McCrory

Shaun McCrory
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Sociolinguistics; Linguistics and Political Economy

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T&R 12:00-2:00 pm Edinburg;  F 2:30-3:30 pm in Brownsville

Office: ELABS 205

Email:
shaun.mccrory@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8771

Charles McGregor

Charles McGregor
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Digital Rhetoric; Creative Writing; Queer Studies; Composition: First-Year Writing; Social Media

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M-R 12:30-1:30 pm

Office: ELABS 270B

Email:
charles.mcgregor@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8789

Dr. Randall Monty

Dr. Randall Monty
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: Critical Discourse Studies; Writing Center Studies; Border Studies; Technical Communication

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M&F by appt.; T 1:00pm-4:00 pm ELABS 203; & Zoom W 10:45-12:15; BMAIN patio & zoom R 10-2:00 pm via zoom

Office: ELABS 203

Email:
randall.monty@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8713

Dr. Beatrice Newman

Dr. Beatrice Newman
Professor

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric and composition; Hispanic student writing; English Language Arts teacher preparation

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M 2:30pm-5:00pm online; T&R 10:00am-11:00am online; & W 10:15am-10:45am ELABS 208

Office: ELABS 208

Email:
beatrice.newman@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-7384

Dr. John Newman

Dr. John Newman
Professor

Areas of Expertise: English historical linguistics; English dialectal variation

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
T&R 9:30am-11:00am & 12:30pm-1:30pm

Office: BSABH 2.404

Email:
john.newman@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7020

Nicole Nicholson

Nicole Nicholson
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Literacy/reading instruction; content-based ESL

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
MW 12:30-2pm T&R 12:30-1:30 pm ELABS 269B and/or zoom

Office: ELABS 269B

Email:
nichole.nicholson@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-7895

Dr. Mark Noe

Dr. Mark Noe
Professor

Areas of Expertise: Rhetorical Theory; Pragmatism; Game-Based Learning

Office: ELABS 219

Email:
joe.noe@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-3430

Mijin Oh-Villarreal

Mijin Oh-Villarreal
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Korean Language Studies, Korean Culture. Korean traditional music, Early Childhood Education

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
MW 8:20am-9:20am & 12:30pm-1:30pm; T&R 11:20am-12:20pm & F by appt.

Office: ELABS 245A

Email:
mijin.ohvillarreal@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8118

Ramses Ortin-Soriano

Ramses Ortin-Soriano
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise: Applied Linguistics; Second Language Acquisition; Bilingualism; Multilingualism

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T 8:00-11:00 am

Office: ELABS 225

Email:
ramses.ortin@utrgv.edu

Valerie Ortiz

Valerie Ortiz
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M&W 8:30am-9:30am & 2:00pm-3:00pm & by appt.

Office: ELABS 266B

Email:
valerie.ortiz02@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8782

Regine Pellicer

Regine Pellicer
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Socio-linguistics; Second Language Acquisition; Writing Pedagogy

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
M&W (office) 1:30pm-2:00 pm;  T&R (zoom) 1:00pm-2:00pm link in BB; F Remind: 10:00am-11:00am link on BB.

Office: ELABS 268A

Email:
regine.pellicer@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8772

Brittany Ramirez-Carter

Brittany Ramirez-Carter
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Composition Studies, First Year Composition, Discourse and Literacy Studies

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
M&W 12:15pm-2:00pm via zoom

Office: ELABS 269

Email:
brittany.ramirez01@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8780

Dra. Alejandra I. Ramírez

Dra. Alejandra I. Ramírez
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise : Mexican American and Mexican Indigenous community literacies, decolonial research methods in rhetoric & composition studies, muralism and visual arts, sensual rhetorics, transfeminisms/transnationalism, Anzaldúan borderland pedagogies, Chicana and Latina studies.

Spring 2023 Office Hours : W 11-1pm

Office : BSABH 2.214

Website: https://www.mala-academica.com

Email:
Alejandra.ramirez@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7956

Dr. Marshall Saenz

Dr. Marshall Saenz
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric & Composition

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
T&R 12:30pm-1:30pm (HECHS) & 3:30pm-4:30pm (Edin) W 11:00pm-12:00pm (B)

Office: ELABS 269A

Email:
marshall.saenz01@utrgv.edu

Yemin Sanchez

Yemin Sanchez
Lecturer III

Areas of Expertise: Composition Studies; English as a Second Language; English Language Arts & Reading; Language and Culture; Hispanic First Year Writing Students

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T 12:00pm-12:30pm (zoom); R 1:45pm-2:15pm (zoom)

Office: ELABS 266A

Email:
yemin.sanchez@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8782

Topacio Santivañez-Pool

Topacio Santivañez-Pool
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: First Year Writing; Composition Studies; Cultural Studies

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T&R 10:00am-11:00am & 2:30-3:30 pm via zoom

Office: ELABS 269

Email:
topacio.santivanez@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8780

Dr. Maggie Shelledy

Dr. Maggie Shelledy
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise: Writing Studies; Rhetorical History and Theory; Carceral Studies; Environmental Studies; Community Literacy

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
MW 10:00am-1:00pm & T&R 12:30pm-1:30pm

Office: BSABH 2.408

Email:
maggie.shelledy@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8840

 Lupita Strong

Lupita Strong
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric and Composition; First-Year Writing

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T 2:30-4:00 pm

Office: BMAIN 1.210B

Email:
lupita.strong@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8874

Dorian Vázquez

Dorian Vázquez
Lecturer I

Areas of Expertise: Court Interpreting (EN<>ES); Translation and Interpreting; Conference Interpreting

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
T,R,F, by appt. M@ BSABH 2.416 2:00pm-4:30 pm; W @ELABS 345A 3:00pm-4:30pm

Office: ELABS 345A

Email:
dorian.vazquez@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-8122

Dr. Sarah Warren-Riley

Dr. Sarah Warren-Riley
Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise: Technical Communication, Rhetoric & Composition

Spring 2023 Office Hours:
T&R 12:30pm-3:00pm by appt/zoom; F by appt.

Office: ELABS 274

Email:
sarah.warrenriley@utrgv.edu

Dr. Yong Kang Wei

Dr. Yong Kang Wei
Professor

Areas of Expertise: Rhetoric and Professional Communication; Rhetorical Theory; Non-Western Rhetorics (mainly Chinese); Intercultural Communication; Technical and Business Communication

Spring 2023 Office Hours: T&R 11:00am-1:30 pm

Office: BSABH 2.406

Email:
yongkang.wei@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-7713

Part-Time Faculty

Marlene Galvan

Marlene Galvan
Director of the Writing Center / Part-Time Lecturer - Writing & Language Studies

Areas of Expertise: rhetoric & composition; writing in the disciplines/writing across the curriculum

Office: ESTAC 3.119

Email:
marlene.galvan@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-7974

Graduate Teaching Assistants

No Scheduled Teaching Assistants for this semester

No Scheduled Teaching Assistants for this semester
Graduate Teaching Assistant

Affiliated Faculty

Dr. Khalid Aada

Dr. Khalid Aada
Lecturer II

Areas of Expertise: Francophone Literature, Multilingualism, Cultural Identity and Education in Francophone countries, The Culture conflict between tradition and modernization in the Arab world.

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
Tue & Thurs 12:00p-1:00p

Department of Literatures & Cultural Studies

Office:
BSABH 2.114A

Email:
khalid.aada@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 882-8891

Dr. Irina Armianu

Dr. Irina Armianu
Associate Professor

Areas of Expertise: French Thought, Teaching with Technology, Contemporary Novel, French Film Studies, Women and Gender Studies

Spring 2023 Office Hours: 
 Mon 11:00am-12:00pm / W 10:00am-11:00am via zoom

Department of Literatures & Cultural Studies

Office:
ELABS 345B

Email:
irina.armianu@utrgv.edu
Phone:
(956) 665-2106
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