Faculty & Staff Directory
At the University of Northern Iowa, your professors are scholars who put teaching first. They emphasize learning — both inside and outside the classroom — that will help you connect your education to the real world.
Get to know our department, and learn more about our faculty and staff by browsing the directory below.
Administrative Faculty
Faculty
Erika Bass
Assistant Professor of English
English-Teaching Advisor
Email Erika Bass →
(319) 273-7193
Sheila Benson
Associate Head, English Section Coordinator
Associate Professor of English
Email Sheila Benson →
(319) 273-2285
Elena Dobrila
Languages Advisor
Associate Adjunct Professor of Spanish
Email Elena Dobrila →
(319) 273-2200
Aliza Fones
Assistant Professor of TESOL
Project UNITED Co-Project Director
Email Aliza Fones →
(319) 273-6911
Joshua Gordon
Associate Professor of TESOL
Email Joshua Gordon →
(319) 273-2673
David Grant
Professor of English
Email David Grant →
(319) 273-2639
Julie Husband
Professor of English
Email Julie Husband →
(319) 273-3849
Caroline S. Ledeboer
Associate Professor of Instruction of English
English and TESOL Advisor
Email Caroline S. Ledeboer →
Personal Office (319) 273-2031 -------- Advising Office (319) 273-2854
Jesse G. Swan
Women's and Gender Studies Coordinator
Professor of English
Email Jesse G. Swan →
(319) 273-2089
Grant Tracey
Professor of English
Email Grant Tracey →
(319) 273-3782
Siegrun Wildner
Professor of English
Email Siegrun Wildner →
(319) 273-7131
Staff
Lexi Byrnes
Secretary
Email Lexi Byrnes →
319-273-5965
Rachel Granzow
Secretary
Email Rachel Granzow →
319-273-2821
Statement of Support
We, the Faculty of the Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Northern Iowa, stand in solidarity with BIPOC communities and the call to end systemic racism. We acknowledge our own place in systems of oppression. Many of us work with languages connected to histories of colonial power, subjugation, settlement, slavery, and genocide. We cannot sanitize the narratives and linguistic power of our profession. We also acknowledge how we have work to do. As we uphold peaceful protests, we also acknowledge that additional action and advocacy must happen.
To this end, we:
• pledge to redouble our efforts to support and encourage antiracist readings, content, and assignments in our current courses and beyond;
• stand with faculty who deliver culturally relevant instruction and, in so doing, connect with our most vulnerable students, especially Black and indigenous students who are at greatest risk from police and epidemiological violence;
• pledge to listen to stories of systemic racism and oppression, and offer support to those who do the difficult work of sharing these stories;
• counsel and demand of our administrators, Regents, and legislators a more inclusive and cooperative relationship with BIPOC faculty, staff, and students; and
• ask the College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences as well as the Faculty Senate to strive to live up to the goals outlined in the College and University’s Strategic Plan.