Penny Claudio
Born and reared in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, I am a Cleveland Indians fan. My formal education is comprised of a Bachelors and Masters degree in English Literature from the University of Toledo. Life experiences include twenty three years of marriage to my college sweetheart, rearing our three children together, and enjoying a career in the non-profit arena for several years.
As much as I enjoy watching the Indians, or sitting down to enjoy a good book, the activity I most enjoy is bicycling. I can be found biking the back roads of Williams and Defiance counties spring through fall, and the stationary bike in my basement in the winter. I have biked in four GOBA’s since taking up the sport and finished my first century ride at the age of 43. I find biking to be the perfect opportunity for solitary reflection and can actually accomplish a lot mentally on rides.
Teaching Composition at Defiance College combines my education, interest in reading and communicating, experience of helping others, the discipline and perseverance of an aspiring athlete, and the patience of an often disappointed Indians fan!
Todd Comer
Todd completed his M. A. and Ph.D. in American literature and film at Michigan State University, and now works as an Assistant Professor of English at Defiance College. Prior to his time at Michigan State University, Todd worked as a reporter, copy writer, and librarian. He earned his BA (English and History) at Taylor University and was born and raised West Virginia. Todd's strengths lie in the area of 20th-century American literature/film and postmodern theory. One of the exciting perks of teaching at Defiance is that it also allows him to teach Postcolonial and British of Composition.
For more information, check out Todd's website.
Professor Courtney has served as part-time instructor in the Arts and Humanities Division since August 1991.
Born Geromina (Jerri) Catherine Ferrara in Washington, D.C., she grew up in the politically charged, culturally diverse Washington area. National events and political issues continually played out on the family television and on the streets she traveled. Jerri was fortunate to grow up with friends from a wide variety of cultures and creeds. Frequent treks to the Smithsonian and an Italian immigrant family also contributed to her interest in culture and her appreciation of diversity. Jerri married Larry Courtney and the two moved to “the city with the big shoulders” (Chicago) and started a family. College was put on hold for a time. Then the Courtneys moved to northwest Ohio and Mrs. Courtney soon enrolled in Defiance College.
In May 1978, Courtney earned a B. A. in Social Work from Defiance College with special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies in Humanities. The skills she gained through the DC social work program combined with insights gained from her interest in Humanities helped to shape her subsequent practice as a professional Social Worker. Courtney later traveled a new path and completed a Master of Liberal Studies Degree (an interdisciplinary degree) at the University of Toledo in June 1987. Continuing interest in history and culture has led her to travel in Europe, Canada, and Puerto Rico where she has visited and photographed several interesting sites.
In addition to photography, Professor Courtney enjoys writing, studies in religion and spirituality, art, music, and theater. She loves to experiment with new technologies and has pages on Facebook, My Space, Deviant Art, and Yahoo 360. As an Adjunct Professor at Defiance College, she has taught Composition, Literature, Western and Global Civilization courses, and Freshman Seminar. For Professor Courtney, the excitement of teaching comes from the opportunity to share. She believes that learning deepens as students work together to share their understanding and their ideas. By participating in that interaction, the professor continues to learn from her students. And of course she loves to share her passions, love of writing, fascination with culture and interdisciplinary studies, and her favorite travel photos.
Lisa Crumit-Hancock has served as part-time instructor in the Arts and Humanities Division since August 1991.
I believe Composition is all about exercising and improving one’s reading, writing and researching skills. So in preparing to write this biography, I decided to do a little research and asked my family for some input. My daughter said I am “a very intelligent mother of two loving children” and my son said I am “the best mommy in the world.” I obviously have reared them well, but they might be a little biased. My husband of over fifteen years, John Hancock (yes, that is really his name and don’t ask him to sign his “John Hancock” because he will), decided to plead the fifth. It became clear in this “research process” that I needed to just take matters into my own hands and simply move on to the drafting process. This is what I finally decided upon:
I am a first generation Ohioan with strong Appalachian roots. I completed my BA in English and History at Defiance College and then completed my MA in American Culture Studies at BGSU. I have taught for many years at NSCC and more recently began to teach at my alma mater, DC. Due to my interdisciplinary interests and training, I teach a variety of courses in English, Philosophy, History, and the Arts and Humanities. At Defiance College, I teach Composition and Global Civilization.
In AH 110, I focus on writing as a process, collaborative learning, and critical thinking skills. I use the concept that the “world is a text” (borrowed from The World is a Text by Rader and Silverman) to persuade students to read the world around them both formally and informally. Through course discussion, group work and formal assignments, I encourage students to read, write and research the popular culture they interact with every day and not take the way(s) it affects them and the way(s) they use it for granted.
Mary Catherine Harper . . . just call me MC.
Mary Catherine Harper teaches literature, creative writing, technical writing, and Composition at Defiance College. Her B. A. comes from Montana State University and her Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University. She has had poetry published in The New England Review, WomenWriters.net, The Bozeman Er, and Masque, and has had her poetic theater piece "A Quarrel of Voices" performed at an Interdisciplinary International Women's Studies Conference. “A Quarrel of Voices” turned into a book of poems called Weaver’s Ken: A Quarrel of Family, which retells one of the Greek myths through the voices of the characters. Harper has since completed another long poem on a mythological subject and has collaborated on a cross-media epistolary novel, Letters to Christian Duval, with the photographer Thomas Born.
Professor Harper also publishes articles on women’s fiction, including science fiction, and has been published in Science Fiction Studies, Extrapolation, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and FemSpec. Her interests in language arts, cultural studies, poetics, and social justice issues have taken her to Cambodia to work on a language arts and ethnography project, so she has written poetry about her experiences in Cambodia.
She is the advisor for Progeny, the student-edited literary and photography magazine of Defiance College. Click here to view Progeny.
To view . . . and perhaps submit your creative works to the an online cross-media
magazine that MC edits, see VellumRelic.