Who We Are
We are a small department committed to helping our students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals through English Studies.
We ask the challenging questions of ourselves and our students and work together on the answers that will move us forward individually and collectively.
English Studies and Journalism understands and shapes the world by developing critical thinking, creativity, and empathy.
Linda Mercer Learman
Dr. Learman is Professor of English, Department Chair, and Director of Campus Writing and the Writing Center at Adrian College. A specialist in teaching writing (rhetoric and composition), Dr. Learman trains faculty from departments across campus on teaching writing intensive courses in addition to training and supervising writing center peer consultants. Dr. Learman has piloted many courses at Adrian College centered on writing as an inquiry-based practice. In Fall 2018, she was awarded the Ross Newsom Teaching Excellence Award from Adrian College. Experiential pedagogy informs her ethic to inspire students to meet professional standards—whether they are working on the Oxcart Literary Magazine, serving the campus community at the Writing Center, or attending and presenting at academic conferences. Dr. Learman also teaches in the Women and Gender Studies program. Emerging interests include developing a course on Irish Women Writers. A Michigan native, Dr. Learman holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Wayne State University.
Carman C. Curton
Dr. Curton is a Professor of English and advisor to Oxcart, the Adrian College literary magazine. She teaches American Literature, Creative Writing, and a variety of other classes that focus on writing. A former editor at The Dallas Times Herald, she has experience writing and editing in many fields, as a journalist, a technical writer, an advertising copywriter, and a publicist, as well as in academic publications. More recently she has published two books and several flash fiction stories in an array of genres in both print and online publications. She is always interested in the craft of writing, storytelling, and the effect of changing technologies on writers and audiences. A Michigander with a B.A. from Michigan State University, Professor Curton also has degrees in English from University of North Texas and University of Denver.
Renee Collins
Renee Collins is a Professor of Journalism who has taught at Adrian College for 14 years. Prior to coming to AC, she worked as a professional journalist in community newspapers throughout the region. She also worked in health care public relations and nonprofit communications, writing and editing quarterly magazines, designing brochures, writing ad copy and producing advertorials, expertise she brings to her work in journalism and advising the student newspaper, The College World. She has helped countless students get a foothold in the journalism industry through internships and part-time employment at local and regional newspapers. She earned her bachelor of arts in English from Siena Heights University and her master of arts in English Language and Literature from The University of Toledo. In Fall 2019, she was awarded the Ross Newsom Teaching Excellence Award from Adrian College. She continues to work as a free-lance writer for local and regional publications.
Bethany Shepherd
Dr. Shepherd is an Associate Professor of English who teaches courses on writing, literature, and culture. Her teaching covers a wide variety of subjects including social justice, global fiction, science fiction, and representations of the environment. Her research and writing focus on narrative in fiction, film and television. Emerging interests include urban studies, particularly in the City of Detroit. She grew up in Michigan and completed her B.A. at Kalamazoo College. She holds an M.A. from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. from Brown University.