E. Leigh Smith
Professor of English, Department Chair
Education
B.A., 1991, Rice University
M.A., 1994, University of Houston
Ph.D., 1999, University of Houston
Dr. Smith joined the faculty at East Stroudsburg University in 2002 and specializes in medieval and other early British literature.
Teaching Interest
Old and Middle English Literature, Early British Literature Medieval European (Continental) Literature, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Tolkien
Research Interest
Same as teaching interests
Service
Editing third Middle States accreditation self-studies, Serve on Ralph Vitello/ASPSCUF Scholarship Committee since Fall 2007, Chaired the Composition Plcement Committee from 2006 to 2023, Served as Faculty Liaison to ESU Foundation Board from Spring 2015 to 2024, Represented the English Department in University Senate from Fall 2015 to Spring 2023
Publications & Presentations
Publications (last 5 years):
Co-edited with Melissa Ridley Elmes, Alterity and Marginalized Figures in Medieval Thought and Imagination: Essays in Honor of Lorraine Stock, Medieval Institute Press (Under contract, forthcoming 2025).
Co-edited with Melissa Ridley Elmes, The Legacies of Gender and Transgression in Medieval Literature: Rethinking Outsiders in Medievalism, Medieval Institute Press (Under contract, forthcoming 2026).
Book Chapters:
Cindy Vitto and Leigh Smith, “Narrative Conquest in Chaucer’s Knight’ Tale and Boccaccio’s Teseida,” Alterity and Marginalized Figures in Medieval Thought and Imagination: Essays in Honor of Lorraine Stock, edited by Melissa Ridley Elmes and Leigh Smith, Medieval Institute Press (Forthcoming 2025).
Leigh Smith, “Doing Yeoman Work: Uses of the Robin Hood Tales in the Undergraduate Survey.” Robin Hood and the Outlaw/ed Literary Canon. Ed. Alex Kaufman and Lesley Coote. McFarland, 2019.
Presentations (last 5 years):
“‘In me was nat alle the stabilite of thys realme’: More Connections between Malory and John Walton’s Boethius.” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2023.
“I was in such joy of hearte that I trowe man never was [that was] erthely”: Malory’s Thomist View of Happiness.” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2022.
“The Consolations of Lancelot: Malory’s Boethian Solution.” International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2021. (This proposal was accepted in 2020, but the conference was cancelled due to COVID. It was accepted again—and delivered—in 2021, when the Congress convened on Zoom.)
“Breaching the Walls: Killing and Intimacy in Malory.” Southeast Medieval Association (SEMA), University of North Carolina-Greensboro, November 2019.
Roundtable:
“Digital Humanities, Open Access, Online Edition of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale and its Source Text, Boccaccio’s Teseide: What do Teachers, Students, and Scholars Want from this Tool?” Southeast Medieval Association (SEMA), University of North Carolina-Greensboro, November 2019.
William Broun
Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1989, Miami University of Ohio
M.A., 1993, Miami University of Ohio
M.F.A., 1998, University of Houston
Bill Broun helped work his way through college and grad school as a journalist (and Big Lots clerk, waiter, dishwasher, and lawn cutter). As a reporter and editor, he covered everything from the indie band rock scene and air travel industry to murders and natural disasters, working in Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts and London.
His short fiction, which often explores the lives of the urban underclass and "working poor," has appeared in journals such as the Indiana Review, Kenyon Review, and Open City.
His debut novel NIGHT OF THE ANIMALS (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2016) received critical acclaim in virtually every major US newspaper and in many international publications. It was recently translated into Mandarin Chinese and debuted successfully in China in March 2019.
Teaching Interest
Fiction writing, Digital media writing, particularly journalism
Research Interest
Journalism in emerging nations
Service
University and System Service:
SPIRIT (Strategic Plan Innovation, Renewal, and Implementation Team) group (2016-present): One of about two dozen members of an ESU "group ... created with the mission to help envision our university's goals for the years leading to 2020."
Joint Labor-Management Committee (2017-18): Serving with Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and APSCUF officials on statewide sub-committee tasked with examining and possibly revising parts of state system/faculty union's CBA.
One Book, One Campus Committee (2014-present): Selection sub-committee. Collaborating with other faculty to choose texts and plan for ESU's One Book series.
Strategic Plan Implementation Task Force (2015-present): As an APSCUF chapter-secretary appointment, I'm collaborating with an interdepartmental working group tasked with integrating concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship into strategic plan implementation efforts.
ESU Representative from Colleges of Arts and Sciences at Stroudfest (2018): Helped staff busy ESU information table at regional public event.
College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Plan Committee (2016): Worked with other arts and sciences faculty to align the college's own strategic plans with the university's new plan.
Distance Education Training Committee (2015-present): Service on university-wide committee seeking to educate instructors on the technology and pedagogy of online education.
Sponsoring Faculty, ESU Annual Research and Scholarly Symposium (2014 and 2015)
Periodic Review Report Workgroup (2011-2012), asked to serve as member of OAIE-organized group composed of fourteen faculty, staff, and administrators tasked with the self-study process and writing of report for Middle States accreditation. Considered, as one document puts it, "a key university-wide collaborative effort which is critical to the university's future."
College of Arts and Sciences Annual Report Committee (2010-2012): wrote large section of annual departmental reports.
Strategic Plan Editor (2010): co-edited plan for Office of Diversity and Institutional Effectiveness
Arts & Letters Assessment Committee (2008-10), committee member; authored large portion of assessment report.
University Writing Committee (2008)
Dean's Arts and Letters Speakers Series Committee (2006)
Scholary and community service
Editorial Board member, Newspaper Research Journal (2018-19): Recently appointed to the editorial board of the prestigious international journalism scholarly research journal. Will be reviewing article submissions.
Reviewer, Pennsylvania Communication Annual (2014-present). Helping to evaluate and offer feedback on scholarly communication studies articles submitted to regional journal.
Concerned Citizens of Reinhard Field (2018): Created a community organization dedicated to protecting greenspace and the quality of life of our neighborhood in Saucon Valley. Have received press coverage.
Hellertown Borough Public Library (July 12, 2016): A free, open-to-anyone "Creative Writing Workshop" with poet Annmarie Drury at local library, held as a public service to the community. The event was filled to capacity with adults interested in creative writing.
WilsonBorough.com (2014-15). Editor-in-chief of local online newspaper conceived and executed as a service project to help spur media coverage and share journalistic skills in underserved, economically troubled area of Lehigh Valley. Trained local Wilson-based Meuser Library board member in how to use system.
Web Co-Editor, Executive Committee Member of the national Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Newspaper and Online News Division), 2009-2011 One of two co-editors/officers who write blog entries and news updates for AEJMC's Newspaper Division weblog.
Editor and co-instructor, Pocono Good, 2009-2010
Helped conceive, win funding for, edit, and oversee to publication an inter-departmental online ESU student-run magazine (a service learning project part of two ESU multimedia courses) that highlights Monroe County volunteerism. Received significant regional press coverage.
Website Development, English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU), Spring Conference, 2010 Devised website for ESU-hosted state conference of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education English departments.
Instructor and developer, ESU Stellar Start Program, summer 2010 Helped create and teach in new program for high-achieving incoming freshmen operated by Provost's Office and Office of Continuing Education & Summer Sessions. Took part in program committee's decision-making and creation of marketing materials.
Student Group Advising
Stroud Courier student newspaper
Publications & presentations
Books
Heart of Ohio (working title): Novel manuscript underway (2017-present): Currently working on writing my second novel.
Night of the Animals (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2016 hardcover; released in paper April 2017; Mandarin Chinese translation, March 2019): Release of a long, critically acclaimed work of literary fiction on a major international publisher. Named one of 2016's Best Books by Slate. National publicity campaign - including newspaper, magazine, web, and radio coverage. Received news coverage by the international media, including the BBC, Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, and many other media organizations.
In The Valley of Swans (Revised and expanded, 2014). Manuscript of short story collection under review and being shopped by my agent. Completed work during 2014 sabbatical.
Articles, essays, Stories (from 2000 oneard only)
(2018) Faith leaders rise up to condemn Trump immigration policies. Commentary/Essay. Allentown Morning Call. June 23.
(2017) Why Confederate monuments should be removed from Gettysburg. Commentary/Essay. Allentown Morning Call. August 20.
(2016) For my mother, Trump's win means 'Happy Days Are Here Again' Commentary/Essay. Allentown Morning Call. November 12.
(2016) King of Night. Commentary/Essay. Creative non-fiction essay by invitation (noteworthy national authors are selected for this essay series) for Powells.com. July 21.
(2016) His loss is a massive tragedy we cannot forget. Commentary/Essay. Allentown Morning Call. March 20.
(2015) Segregated Comfort, on Paul Beatty's The Sell-Out novel. Times Literary Supplement (TLS). April 15 issue.
(2014) Where All the Magic Happens, on Porochista Khakpour's The Last Illusion novel. Times Literary Supplement (TLS). Dec 29 issue.
(2013) Wilson Borough Elementary is the little school that could. Commentary/Essay. Allentown Morning Call. Oct 13.
(2010). Article on Michael Awkward's Burying Don Imus. Journal of Mass Media Ethics (JMME), spring 2010.
(2010). Crossing The Thin Red Line: Erythrophobia and the Color Psychology of Markups. College English (in revision).
(2009). Who reads Paul Auster? on Paul Auster's Invisible novel. Times Literary Supplement (TLS). Nov 6 issue.
(2009). Heart Machine Time. Short story in Flight Patterns: A Century of Stories About Flying. Grove Press, Open City Books: New York, NY.
(2008). Romance Out Of Reach. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), Feb 1 issue.
(2007). The All-American Short Story: article on Granta Book of American Short Stories. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), Nov 7 issue.
(2007). Couplandism. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), Oct 19 issue.
(2006). The Sociopath. A Book For Daniel Stern. Sheep Meadow Press: Riverdale On Hudson, NY.
(2004, January 4). A Moveable Feast. The Washington Post Book World, T08.
(2004). A Hamlet from Calcutta. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5258, p20-2.
(2002). Signposts to Stillwater. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5153, p19.
(2001, November). New and Noteworthy. The Atlantic Monthly.
(2001, October). New and Noteworthy. The Atlantic Monthly.
(2001). Lives of working men. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5144, p22.
(2001). Down home folk. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5127, p22.
(2001). Exile from Streatham. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5119, p21.
(2001). In the Promised Land. Times Literary Supplement (TLS), 5107, p23.
(2001, November 11). Jargon buster. The Times [London].
(2001, November 4). Jargon buster. The Times [London].
(2001, April 30). For better or verse. The Times [London].
(2000). Why Are You Still Here? Kenyon Review, 23 (1).
(2000). Heart-Machine Time. Open City, 11.
Sandra J. Eckard
Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1994, Frostburg State University
M.A., 1996, West Virginia University
Ph.D., 2001, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Eckard directs the Writing Studio here at ESU, the hot-spot for writing tutoring on campus. In addition, teaches a variety of writing and literature courses and works with education majors. She presents at conferences regularly, and her latest book series, Comic Connections, is published by Rowman and Littlefield Education.
Research Interest
Teaching with Popular Culture, Comics and Comic Studies, Composition Pedagogy, Writing Center Administration, Literature and Film Studies
The Human in Superhuman: The Power of the Sidekick in Pop Culture (2022) from Lexington Press
The Ties that Bind: Storytelling as a Teaching Technique in Writing Centers and Composition Classrooms
Yin and Yang in the English Classroom: Teaching with Popular Culture Texts
Comic Connections Series on Teaching: Analyzing Hero and Identity, Reflecting on Women in Popular Culture, Building Character and Theme
Jeffrey P. Hotz
Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1994, Georgetown University
M.A., 1997, Georgetown University
Ph.D., 2004, George Washington University
Jeffrey Hotz teaches early American literature with a focus on the nineteenth century. His scholarship involves archival and special collections research to examine authors' personal papers, creative processes, and relationships with publishers and readers.
Teaching Interest
Early American literature, Composition Archival research
Research Interest
Early American literature, Composition, Archival research
Service
Member of Middle States Accreditation Working Group, Board member for the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (SSML), Department chairperson from January 2018 to May 2023
Publications & Presentations
_Longfellow’s Imaginative Engagement: The Works of His Late Career_. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2022.
_Divergent Visions, Contested Spaces: The Early United States through the Lens of Travel_. Routledge, 2006.
Laura Kieselbach
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., 2000, Pennsylvania State University
M.Ed., 2010, University of Central Florida Ed.D., Northeastern University
Dr. Laura Kieselbach joined the ESU English Department in the Fall of 2016. She instructs Teaching of English, Composition, Literary Analysis, Diversity Literature, and works closely with the Education College in advising student teachers in the field.
Prior to arriving at ESU, Dr. Kieselbach worked full time in the public school system advising new teachers as a lead mentor, writing curriculum to meet changing standards, leading workshops on collaborative learning and dynamic student-centered classroom strategies, and instructing English for middle and high school students. She also worked at Daytona State College instructing Composition and Critical Thinking courses. These experiences make her suited to understand evolving demographics and strategies that work in secondary education classrooms, reaching students of all backgrounds, and cultivating a cultural competence among her students, including student teachers who are honing their own pedagogical craft.
Teaching Interest
Education/Pedagogy, Diversity, Literature, Environment, Music, Composition, Social Justice
Research Interest
Dr. Kieselbach's thesis discussed ways to use multicultural literary texts in order to attain a more rigorous and intentional application of Culturally Responsive Pedagogical Practices in the English Language Arts Classroom. An advocate for equity and change, her Ed.D. is in Curriculum and Teacher and Learning Leadership and embedded in social justice advocacy for students of marginalization and minority populations and continues to research ways to make campuses, classrooms, and instruction more diverse and inclusive.
Service
Education Advisory Committee, Diversity and Inclusion PSED Content Specialist Committee, Pocono Writing Project, Frederick Douglass Executive Committee, SPIRIT Committee, Human Resources Committee
Cynthia A. Leenerts
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1987, George Mason University
M.A., 1990, George Mason University
Ph.D., 1997, George Washington University
An Associate Professor of English, as well as a student of Chinese language and literatures, Cynthia Leenerts joined the faculty of ESU in 2005. She teaches postcolonial literature, British literature, and other world literatures, along with linguistics, literary criticism and theory, biblical and other religious literatures, and composition. Currently serving as President of the South Asian Literary Association, she is working with Hema Chari on a book project, At Home in the World: Rabindranath Tagore’s Travel Writing.
Teaching Interest
Postcolonial Literature, Literary Criticism & Theory, Major Authors: Rabindranath Tagore; Salman Rushdie, The Graphic Novel, Linguistics, British Literature II World Literature, Lit. & Religion, Biblical Literature, Victorian Literature, 17th-c. British Literature
Research Interest
Rabindranath Tagore's Travel Writings, Contemporary and Traditional Chinese Literatures, Contemporary and Traditional South Asian Literatures, Postcolonial Literature
Service
President, South Asian Literary Association, Editorial Board of South Asian Review, Editorial Board of Impost, Reviewer for Postcolonial Text, English Dept. Liaison to visiting professors from China, Department Curriculum Committee, Department Retention Committee, Department Executive Committee, Teaching English to visiting students from China in ESU's Summer Sports Institute
Student Group Advising
Advisor, Sigma Tau Delta, Co-Advisor, Anime Club
Publications & Presentations
Passage to Manhattan: Critical Essays on Meena Alexander. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.
Co-edited with Lopamudra Basu.
Literature Without Borders: International Literature in English for Student Writers. Prentice-Hall, 2001.
Co-edited with George Bozzini.
In progress: At Home in the World: Rabindranath Tagore's Travel Writing. Collaborative with Hema Chari.
"Graphic Anamnesis: Redrawing the Home Country in Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do and GB Tran's Vietnamerica: A Family Journey. Critical Insights: The Immigrant Experience. Edited by Maryse Jayasuriya. Salem, 2018. pp. 49-69.
Other publications, and numerous presentations on South Asian and Chinese literatures at South Asian Literary Association (SALA), College English Association (CEA), Pennsylvania College English Association (PCEA), English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU), and other venues.
Richard J. Madigan
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1974, University of Florida
M.F.A., 1990, Indiana University
Professor Madigan teaches classes in expository writing, creative writing, contemporary literature and modern and contemporary American and Irish poetry.
Jan Selving
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1990, Indiana University
M.F.A., 1994, Arizona State University
Teaching areas: Creative Writing, Contemporary Literature, Professional Document Design
Jasmine Villa
Assistant Professor of English
Education
B.A., 2011, University of Texas at El Paso
M.A., 2014, University of Texas at El Paso
Ph.D., 2018, University of Texas at El Paso
Her research predominantly focuses on professional and digital media writing trends related to community writing, social media, and composition pedagogy.
Her work has been published in Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric and the Literacy in Composition Studies Journal. She has presented her work at several conferences including the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Conference on Community Writing, Cultural Rhetorics, and the Computers and Writing Conference.
Holly M. Wells
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., 1988, Youngstown State University
M.A., 2001, Youngstown State University
Ph.D., 2012, Kent State University
Dr. Wells teaches courses in basic writing, advanced composition, nonfiction narrative, and professional and digital media writing in both the BA and MA programs. Her research focuses on the intersections between autoethnography, memoir, place study, and epigenetics.
Teaching Interest
Wells teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in composition, professional writing, research methods, visual rhetoric, nonfiction narrative, and document design.
Research Interest
Autoethnography, place studies, epigenetics, memoir, and the history, literature, and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Service
Wells served as coordinator of the Graduate Program in Professional and Digital Media Writing from 2013 to 2019. She also serves on various department, University, and APSCUF committees.
Publications & Presentations
Publications include two edited books, several book chapters, and two co-authored journal articles, as well as numerous conference presentations.
Artress B. White
Associate Professor of English
Education
B.A., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., 2009, University of Kentucky
Dr. White joined the East Stroudsburg University Department of English in fall 2020 after completing a National Endowment of the Humanities visiting professorship at Albright College. She is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. Her teaching, research, and writing interests include African American literature, contemporary poetry and poetics, BIPOC social justice literacy, and the memoir essay.
Teaching Interest
Dr. White teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in African American literature, poetry, BIPOC literature, creative nonfiction, and composition.
Research Interest
African American Literature, Poetry, Poetics, Slave Archive
Service
Faculty Advisor for Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society Women of Color Initiative (WOCI) Steering Committee, Presidential Commission on Community Belonging, Frederick Douglass Institute Committee, ESU Strategic Planning Committee (2022-2023)
Publications & Presentations
Published Books:
A Black Doe in the Anthropocene: Poems. University Press of Kentucky, 2025.
Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters, Pangyrus, 2023.
Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity. New Rivers Press Minnesota State University Moorhead, 2020, 2022.
My Afmerica: Poems. Trio House Press, 2019.
Edward Crandall
Instructor of English
Education
B.A., 1987, New York University
M.A., 1998, Montclair State University (NJ)
Edward Crandall teaches college writing. He was on the staff of the Saga Shimbun newspaper in Saga, Japan, where he wrote in Japanese, and he served as a contributing editor at the monthly publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese in Fukuoka, Japan, also writing and editing in Japanese. For nearly twenty years, he taught journalism, contemporary politics through the news, and intercultural communication at several two- and four-year colleges in Saga, Japan. He is also a professional Japanese translator.
