Alumni News

Professor Mary Janell Metzger is retiring. An expert in Early Modern British Literature, critical theory and gender studies, MJ, as she was dubbed by her students, has taught a wide range of courses in Early Modern British Literature, gender and race studies, critical and cultural theory, philosophy, literature, and pedagogy. Winner of Western’s 2006 Peter J. Elich Award for Excellence in Teaching, she is known for teaching challenging courses marked by engaging and active discussions and is widely respected among students and colleagues for her careful preparation of rigorous reading and writing assignments and the detailed and extensive responses she provides to student writing. Her career spanned 30 years—27 of which she spent at Western.  

Dr. Metzger earned a BA in Literature from the University of Washington and her PhD from the University of Iowa. Her scholarship has made internationally recognized contributions to Shakespeare scholarship and to research on the teaching of Shakespeare. She was a frequent contributor to the Shakespeare Association of America and published widely on teaching Shakespeare for social justice, on the use of antiracist teaching practices, and more broadly on pedagogical emphases on ethics, social justice, gender, and race. Her book, Shakespeare Without Fear: Teaching for Understanding, has been in print for almost twenty years. A new collaborative project, Teaching Shakespeare Inclusively, is slated for publication in 2023.  

In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Dr. Metzger regularly chaired departmental committees, served as a member of several key college-level committees, taught as an affiliated faculty member in the Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies program, and served as the department’s Associate Chair. She was a founding member of the university’s Social Justice and Equity Committee under the leadership of Dr. Trula Nicholas, and regularly facilitated cross campus and intercollegiate interracial discussion groups as part of the committee’s work. In the past year, she launched with Aric Mayer Western’s Critical White Studies Group, a forum exploring institutional racism and approaches to recognizing and addressing white supremacy in university settings.  

Colleagues and friends have established an annual scholarship in honor of Dr. Metzger’s service and teaching at Western. Contributions to this award can be made via the Western Foundation and the award’s name, the Grace Dunbar-Miller Award, named after the first African American English graduate to be chosen as a presidential scholar. 

With much appreciation, we wish all the best to Cathy McDonald, who is retiring this year after nineteen years of teaching and serving the department. Known for her joyous smile, generous and fun-loving spirit, as well as her always-open office door (where anyone could pop in and help themselves to her jar of peanut butter pretzels), Cathy has continually demonstrated that teaching and learning are about cultivating relationships, both in and out of the classroom. 

Cathy came to Western in 2003 when she was hired to serve as the Assistant Director of Composition (AD), a position she held for nine years. As the AD, Cathy was much beloved by the many cohorts of graduate student instructors who frequented her office to seek advice or just plop down in her comfortable chair to talk about their teaching and graduate studies work in the presence of a good listener.

Cathy earned her PhD from the University of Washington in Language and Rhetoric in 2006. A specialist in rhetorical genres studies, discourse, and language, she has been an essential member of the writing studies team. In 2009, she was awarded the Ronald Kleinknecht Award for Excellence in Teaching.

For the last decade, Cathy has continued to teach a range of writing studies and language courses while also developing new GUR courses in young people’s literature and disability studies. She has assisted with summer advising and been an advocate for the department’s teaching faculty.

When she departs Western, she’ll enjoy time with her grandchildren, volunteer at the Humane Society, and continue to foster kittens.  However, don’t be surprised if you see a woman in a purple wig skydiving out of the Bellingham skies (yes, it’s on her to do list). Or perhaps, she tells me, she’ll just take a trip to Egypt. She’ll probably do both.

For years, Cathy donated paintings created by her husband Kevin to anyone looking for some art to liven up their workspace. Long after Cathy has moved on to her next adventures, these paintings will continue to brighten the walls of TA, faculty, and staff offices, reminding us of her colorful and magnanimous presence. (And Cathy, we apologize for using too many of the “Mr. Rogerism” platitudes that you taught generations of students to avoid. We are happy to have been your neighbor.)

We will greatly miss Professor Suzanne Paola’s presence here in the English Department. A woman of many talents, she writes in a wide range of forms—poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and hybrid work—and her work has been internationally recognized for its originality, merit, and impact, especially in the field of disability literature. Her latest book, The Terrible Unlikelihood of our Being Here, interweaves explorations of spiritualism, mental illness, and physics with what one reviewer dubbed “her deeply, stylistically recognizable authorial voice, replete with iconoclastic brilliance and compassion.” Her other books include the “kinetic” novel Entangled Objects: A Novel in Quantum Parts; Make Me a Mother: A Memoir; and A Mind Apart: Travels in A Neurodiverse World. She has had her short-form work appear in media such as the Huffington Post, Ms., the New York Times, The Hill, and many other others. Her scholarship received Western’s coveted Paul J. Olscamp Research Award, a recognition of a Western faculty member’s “impressive record of achievement in scholarship and research during their time at Western.”

Professor Paola also co-wrote, with colleague Brenda Miller, the iconic textbook Tell it Slant: Creating, Refining, and Publishing Creative Nonfiction. The first textbook in the field (in 2002) to combine readings, instructions, and writing exercises, Tell it Slant has now become the foundational instructional text in creative nonfiction. Her passion for creative writing pedagogy shines through this book as well as in the courses she taught. A popular teacher known for her facilitation of deep discussions, exciting writing assignments, and keen feedback on student work, Professor Paola taught a wide range of courses, from introductory creative writing classes to graduate seminars on topics such as “The Prosody of Prose,” as well as many literature courses, such as Women and Literature.

A beloved teacher for over 26 years at Western, she mentored hundreds of students to success in their writing and careers. She also transformed the Bellingham Review under her editorship, widening its scope to include international work and the voices of marginalized communities. She also contributed in so many ways behind the scenes, serving on innumerable department and university committees, providing astute leadership and unwavering support for her colleagues. She cannot be replaced, and we wish her all the best in her future chapters!

The English Department is pleased to have this opportunity to recognize the contributions of Dr. Julie Dugger, who concluded her work with the English Department this spring. Next year she will work as Honors Senior Capstone Coordinator and teach classes in the Honors First-Year Sequence. She will also be part of the Honors advising team during Fall Advising and Registration.

Dr. Dugger has been a valued member of the English department since the fall of 2006, and has taught a variety of classes including introductory courses in writing about literature, women’s literature, and British literature, as well as advanced courses in Victorian literature, Irish literature, and critical theory. She has also taught at Fairhaven College and Global Humanities and Religions, a testament to her versatility and wide-ranging interests. Dr. Dugger consistently receives rave reviews from her students and colleagues alike, who all praise her for her infectious enthusiasm for her work, her compassion for and support of her students, and her deep knowledge of her academic fields. Students appreciate the way she brings historical literatures to life, and her faculty peers admire her sophisticated and effective course design. Dr. Dugger has performed important departmental service on behalf of the English Department’s non-tenure-track faculty, served as Occam’s Razor advisor, and also served for two years as Director of Writing Instruction Support for WWU Libraries. Dr. Dugger has also been running a very popular study-abroad program to Ireland, where students travel to Dublin, Sligo, Galway, and Inishmore to study the language and literature. 

The English department has been lucky to have a professor of her caliber at Western, and we are looking forward to celebrating her good work in the Honors College going forward. Good luck, Julie – we will miss you!

The English department is both pleased and saddened to announce the departure of our current Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Jemma Everyhope-Roser. 

Jemma started at Western in the Communications department in 2014, and transferred to the English department in 2017.  She was admitted to the graduate program in fall quarter 2019, and began working on her MFA while employed at Western full time.  In her capacity as Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Jemma tended to the ultra-complicated schedule and managed the work-study students who staff the front desk. Probably most of our recent alumni know her best, though, through advising. Jemma advised literally hundreds of students, shepherding them through the process of declaring and then fulfilling their English majors and minors. Students regularly commented on Jemma’s patience, her deep knowledge of our department’s curriculum and many degree programs, and her skill at helping students navigate Western’s processes and resources. We are grateful to Jemma for all she has done to support faculty, staff, and most importantly our students. 

In June, she will be leaving the English department staff for full-time employment as a writer, while remaining in the MFA graduate program. Jemma has been consistently cheerful, helpful, and welcoming to students, staff, and faculty in her time in the English department, and her kindness and personal flair will be missed by all.