“One way to be a neighbor is through reading. For Christians, reading literature is a way to explore, develop, and celebrate the world created by God and graciously given to us. This is a powerful and distinctive approach to reading. . . For those of us who read, delight, and think about literature from within the Christian metanarrative, reading is one way to glorify God and love our neighbors.”
Susan VanZanten
The formal study of English is, in many ways, an exercise in empathy. To engage critically with literature is to identify with characters, to contextualize historical perspectives, and to understand theoretical lenses. And to practice effective writing and rhetoric is to relate to an audience, understanding its members’ preconceptions and preoccupations. Students in literature and language courses must then apply their ability to empathize as they discuss ideas, analyze causes, anticipate consequences, speculate possibilities, consider recommendations, test theories, and negotiate solutions. Consequently, we believe our English majors are prepared for the challenges they will encounter in both their professional and personal lives.
Title: Associate Professor of English
Email: acirilla@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Grammar, Rhetoric, British Literature, Fiction Writing, the Inklings
Education: B.A., Niagara University, 2008; M.A., SUNY Brockport, 2010; Ph.D., Saint Louis University, 2016
Dr. Cirilla teaches writing and literature courses at College of the Ozarks. He has published widely on a variety of topics and serves as associate editor of Carmina Philosophiae, the journal of the International Boethius Society.
Email: cgibson@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Dr. Gibson enjoys teaching literature (in any area) as well as composition. Specifically, her teaching and research interests are modern and contemporary American literature and culture.
Education: B.A., College of the Ozarks, 2007; M.A., Missouri State University, 2009; Ph.D., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2017
Charity Gibson joined the English department at College of the Ozarks in 2011. She teaches composition and literature courses, her specialization being American literature. She sponsors the campus chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society. She enjoys writing, publishing, and presenting on issues related to motherhood, parenting, and contemporary culture. She received her Ph.D. in literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She completed her master’s degree in English literature at Missouri State University and her bachelor’s degree in English Education while also minoring in music at College of the Ozarks.
Title: Assistant Professor of English
Email: mmiller@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Nonfiction and technical writing, literature as cultural history, history and theory of rhetoric.
Education: A.A., York College of Nebraska, 2007; B.A., Oklahoma Christian University, 2009; M.A., Saint Louis University, 2012; Ph.D., Saint Louis University, 2017
Dr. Miller teaches writing subjects, including technical writing, creative nonfiction, and composition, as well as literature courses at College of the Ozarks. He trained in rhetoric and composition at Saint Louis University and also worked for several years in branding, marketing, and technical writing. He writes literary essays as well as scholarship on rhetorical theory, religion and literature, environmental humanities, and the Midwest.
Title: Associate Professor of Humanities
Email: dpedersen@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Medieval and Early Modern Literature, History of English, Writing and Rhetoric, Western Civilization (Pre-Modern)
Education: B.A., University of Nebraska, 2005; M.S.Ed., Lehman College-CUNY, 2007; M.A., University of York, 2011; Ph.D., Fordham University, 2017
Dr. David Pedersen joined the faculty at College of the Ozarks in 2017, after teaching at Fordham University, Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, NY), and at two different high schools in the New York City Public Schools. He has published or is in the process of publishing essays on Old and Middle English literature and on the intersection of faith and education. All of his research engages the relationship between faith and imagination, and his current book project Wyrd-wise Christians: Conceiving Heroic Christianity explores uniquely heroic conceptions of Christianity in Old English wisdom literature.
Title: Associate Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center
Email: pray@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: College Writing, Grammar, Secondary English Pedagogy, Integration of Faith and Teaching, Place-Conscious Pedagogy, and Poetry.
Education: B.A., William Jewell College, 2004; M.A.T., Missouri State University, 2010
Mrs. Paige Ray joined College of the Ozarks faculty in 2015. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Composition and Applied Linguistics program at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She enjoys writing and publishing in the subdisciplines of sociolinguistics and English pedagogy.
Title: Professor of Humanities and Humanities Division Chair
Email: esmilie@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Epics, medieval literature, G.K. Chesterton, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Education: B.A., Pittsburg State University, 2006; M.A., University of Dallas, 2008; Ph.D., University of Dallas, 2012
Dr. Smilie joined the English department at College of the Ozarks in 2017. Dr. Smilie has published papers on Homer, Boethius, Dante, Chaucer, Thomas More, Milton, Austen, G.K. Chesterton, and Laura Ingalls Wilder, ranging over a number of topics, including philosophical, theological, and poetic portrayals curiosity and depictions of pedagogical practices in works of fiction.
Email: aoneal@cofo.edu
Teaching Focus: Grammar, composition, rhetoric, literature
Education: BSEd., Abilene Christian University, 1988; M.Ed., Harding University, 2017; Ph.D., Arkansas State University, 2019
Dr. Aleshia O’Neal joined the College of the Ozarks' English department in 2022 after teaching in the English departments at Harding University (Searcy, AR) and York University (York, NE). Her teaching experience prior to college instruction spans 20 years in public, private, and homeschool settings. She received her PhD in Heritage Studies from Arkansas State University in 2019. Her specialization is cultural studies through the lens of literature, including an interest in African American Literature and Women in Literature.
Career Opportunities in English
Work Program