About the Department of Writing & Rhetoric
Learn about our department faculty and program offerings.
Department of Writing & Rhetoric
The Department of Writing & Rhetoric is the institutional home of first-year writing, speech communication, and the writing centers community at the University of Mississippi. Officially classified as a department in 2014, the DWR continues expand with new upper-division course offerings in Writing and Speech, a B.A. in Rhetoric, a professional writing minor, and a maturing writing enriched curriculum program.
Who We Are
The University of Mississippi is categorized as an R1 research institution, which means that our faculty are at the top of their fields and actively conducting groundbreaking research. It also means students work and study alongside some of the best.
The DWR has a longstanding commitment to innovative teaching and outreach, and much of our work has been funded by grants. For example, the department has been a state and national leader in the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. Bob Cummings, former chair, and Stephen Monroe, current chair, won a multi-year grant from the Hewlett Foundation to promote the use of OER at community colleges and universities across Mississippi. Called Z-Degree Mississippi, this program has resulted in student textbook savings of more than seven million dollars.
Many DWR faculty have incorporated OER and other technology into their courses. Guy Krueger, Karen Forgette, and Andrew Davis have led an effort to develop adaptive learning modules for Writing 100 and 101. This project was undertaken in partnership with Lumen Learning of Portland and was supported by grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Association of Public Land Grant Universities.
Most recently, the DWR has become a national leader in applied artificial intelligence, developing new methods for teaching AI literacy. Marc Watkins and other DWR faculty and students were featured in the Washington Post for their innovative efforts.
What We Do
The Department of Writing and Rhetoric supports UM students’ rhetorical development at every stage. First- and second-year courses cover the fundamental writing, speaking, and analytic skills college demands. Upper-division courses focus on specific rhetorical contexts, media, theories, and audiences to develop skills in hearing, reading, composing, and delivering effective messages.
In addition to its innovative curriculum, the Department of Writing and Rhetoric offers a range of programs and resources that support students beyond the classroom. These include the Writing Centers and Speaking Center, which provide individualized support for writing and oral communication; the TEDx University of Mississippi program, where students help produce a major public speaking event; and competitive opportunities like the Warren Debate Union and Speaker’s Edge. The department also celebrates excellence in storytelling through the prestigious Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing.
Welcome from the Chair
Welcome! The Department of Writing and Rhetoric is the largest department on campus, and we are also one of the friendliest and most supportive. Students in our courses receive individual attention from dedicated teachers, and they find valuable opportunities for work, study, and pre-professional training grounded in the liberal arts. Please read through our website and visit us in Lamar Hall to learn more about our major in Writing, Rhetoric, and Speech Communication and our minor in Professional Writing. Students in these programs grow as writers, thinkers, and speakers. They also develop marketable digital skills and learn how to use AI effectively and ethically.
We are also very proud of our Writing Centers and Speaking Center, which serve thousands of students each year. All UM students and graduate students can get help at these centers (free of charge) to become more confident and effective communicators. As a rhetoric student said to me recently, “No matter what I do in my life, if I want to succeed, I’ll need to be a strong writer and speaker. Those skills affect everything.
Stephen Monroe
Chair and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric
Department Leadership and Support
From student advising to travel assistance and all things in between, our leadership team supports Art & Art History faculty and students.
Stephen Monroe
- Chair and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric
Karen Forgette
- Senior Lecturer in Composition and Rhetoric & Assistant Chair
Guy Krueger
- Senior Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric
Deidra Jackson
- Instructor and Regional Campus Writing Center Director
Elizabeth Moore
- Lecturer in Speech and Speaking Center Director
Margaret Rauch
- Senior Lecturer and Regional Campus Writing Center Director
Ellen Shelton
- Director UM Writing Project and Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric and Interim Writing Center Director - Oxford
Faculty A-C
George Atkins
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Thomas Bagwell
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Kay Barefoot
- Lecturer in Speech
Elizabeth Baxter
- Instructional Assistant Professor of Classics
Geoffrey Bogan
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Paul Boran
- Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric
Kerry Bowers
- Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric
William Boyle
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Victoria L. Brown
- Lecturer in Speech
Jenny Bucksbarg
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Gretchen Bunde
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Harry Bynum
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Avery Camp
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing & Rhetoric
Chris Clark
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing & Rhetoric
Rob Cole
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Emily Cooley
- Instructor in Composition & Rhetoric
Robert Cummings
- Executive Director of Academic Innovation, Professor of Writing and Rhetoric, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Digital Media Studies
Faculty D-F
Andrew Davis
- Instructional Design and Training Specialist and Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric
Dawn Denham
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Schuyler Dickson
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Emily Donahoe
- Associate Director of Instructional Support in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Lecturer of Writing and Rhetoric
Chip Dunkin
- Senior Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric
John T Edge
- Director MS Lab, Founding Director SFA, and Writer in Residence in Writing and Rhetoric
Latoya Faulk
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Karen Forgette
- Senior Lecturer in Composition and Rhetoric & Assistant Chair
Lauren Fortenberry
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Ashley Fortner
- Instructor in Writing & Rhetoric
Faculty G-I
Bavjola Gami
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Loran Gami
- Instructor in Writing & Rhetoric
WENDY Goldberg
- Senior Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Maggie Graber
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Angela Green
- Writing Enriched Curriculum Senior Lecturer
Meredith Harper
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
William Hays
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Alison Hitch
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric (Fast Track)
April Holifield-Scott
- Director of Desoto and Grenada Campuses
Kate Hooper
- Senior Lecturer in Speech
Emily Howorth
- Communications Specialist
Whitney Hubbard
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Polly Hubbell
- Adjunct Instructor in Center for Student Success and First Year Experience and Writing and Rhetoric
Isaac Huckaby
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Sarah Huddleston
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Carroll Huebner
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing & Rhetoric
Faculty J-L
Deidra Jackson
- Instructor and Regional Campus Writing Center Director
Ashley Jones-Bodie
- Associate Professor of Speech Communication and Communication Across the Curriculum Coordinator
Jacob Justice
- Assistant Professor of Speech Communication and Director of Forensics
Burhanettin Keskin
- Professor of Early Childhood Education
Amber King
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Amanda Knabb
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Mary Knight
- Communications Specialist
Guy Krueger
- Senior Lecturer in Writing & Rhetoric
Tess Lefmann
- Associate Professor of Social Work
Karla Lyles
- Senior Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric
Faculty M-O
Kellye Makamson
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Caroline McCaulay
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Morgan McComb
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Patrick McGinn
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Nick Mears
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Abigail Meisel
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
David Miller
- Instructor in Composition & Rhetoric
Claire Mischker
- Lecturer and Graduate Writing Center Director
Elizabeth Mitchell
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Stephen Monroe
- Chair and Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric
Elizabeth Moore
- Lecturer in Speech and Speaking Center Director
Susan Nicholas
- Instructor in Composition & Rhetoric
Amber Nichols-Buckley
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Kellene O'Hara
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Faculty P-R
Kara Parham
- Academic Counselor
Eliot Parker
- Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric
Ellen Payne
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Margaret Rauch
- Senior Lecturer and Regional Campus Writing Center Director
Faculty S-U
Amy Schumacher-Rutherford
- Instructor in Speech
Ellen Shelton
- Director UM Writing Project and Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric and Interim Writing Center Director - Oxford
Josh Shipman
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Fara Shook
- Instructor in Composition & Rhetoric
Talya Slaw
- Instructor in Speech
Deshannon Smith
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Gennella Texada
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
James Thomas
- Associate Director of Publications- The Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Colleen Thorndike
- Lecturer in Composition & Rhetoric
Wendy Todd
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Mary Tyler
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Don Unger
- Associate Professor of Writing and Rhetoric
Faculty V-Z
Don Vaughan
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Marc Watkins
- Lecturer in Composition and Rhetoric and Assistant Director of Academic Innovation
Carrie Wigley
- Adjunct Instructor in Management
Elizabeth Williams
- Instructor in Composition and Rhetoric
Mac Williams
- Instructor in Speech
Susan Wood
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Beth Wray
- Adjunct Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Margaret Zee
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Joseph Zendarski
- Instructor in Writing and Rhetoric
Centers & Programs
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Writing Centers
We offer free writing consultation services for UM students. Our highly trained peer consultants work alongside UM students on projects in all disciplines at any stage of the composition process. Our centers provide access to free one on one consultations, group workshops, and other writing focused resources.
Visit the Writing Centers -
Speaking Center
We offer free public speaking consultation services for UM students. Our highly trained peer consultants work alongside UM students on projects in all disciplines. We provide free access to one-on-one consultations, group workshops, and other speech communication-focused resources.
Visit the Speaking Center -
TEDx
We are a group of student volunteers that create an event unlike any other. We share the wonder of Mississippi—it’s innovators, creators, and thinkers. We share ideas from outside Mississippi that can impact Mississippians in a positive way. Ultimately, we share an evening of curated Talks each year that spark conversation in our community and beyond.
Learn More About TEDx University of Mississippi -
Warren Debate Union
The Ty R. Warren Debate Union, a body of undergraduate students, engages global communication through British Parliamentary/Worlds Style Debate on campus, within our region, nationally, and around the globe.
Read More About Warren Debate Union -
Speaker’s Edge
The Speaker’s Edge Competition is unlike any other speech event in the country, challenging University of Mississippi students to express ideas, knowledge, and understanding clearly and effectively. Started by UM alumni, the Speaker’s Edge Competition brings industry professionals. retirees, working alumni and students together, requiring students to adapt their messages to different audiences and different situations.
Read More About Speaker’s Edge -
The Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing
Each year, the Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing honor some of the best literature telling rich, original stories about the US South marked by a strain of honest optimism. The award-winning works reflect a belief that things can be better, that the South—a region marked by systemic racism and economic extraction—can still be a place of opportunity and hope.
Read More About The Willie Morris Awards for Southern Writing
Our Community
A Place That Ever Calls
Located 70 miles from Memphis and surrounded by the natural beauty of Northern Mississippi, Oxford boasts thriving music, art, and literary scenes along with great restaurants. UM's athletics provide many opportunities to watch and participate in sports—and one of the world's best tailgating parties.
With everything Oxford has to offer, it's no wonder USA Today named Oxford as one of the Top Six College Towns in the Nation.
Come see why.