Dr. Linda Norris, Director, MATE
Sutton Hall, Rm. 343
(724) 357-3969lnorris@iup.eduDr. Linda Norris, professor of English, is the director of the Master of Arts in Teaching English (M.A./TE) program. She has been a faculty member at IUP since 1992 and has worn many hats, including director of the undergraduate English education program for 12 years and assistant chair of the English department. She has received both the Outstanding Advisor and Outstanding Professor awards from the English department and a commendation from the Council of Trustees. She earned undergraduate degrees in English and French from Penn State and her master’s and doctoral degrees in English Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the coauthor of two books and countless articles in secondary English teacher education. In 2007, she received the Richard A. Meade Award from the National Council of Teachers of English for excellence in research in Englsh education, and in 2009 she won the Pennsylvania Teacher Educator of the Year award from the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators. She is the coeditor of the Pennsylvania Teacher Educator journal.
Dr. Lynne Alvine
Sutton Hall, Rm. 353
(724) 357-2274
lalvine@iup.eduDr. Lynne Alvine is known by her students and colleagues as a dedicated teacher and generous mentor. In 2007, she was recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English as an Outstanding Woman in English Education and given the NCTE Inglis Award, named for Rewey Belle Inglis, the first woman president of NCTE. In Spring 2011, she was presented the IUP Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching.
Dr. Alvine teaches in the Composition and TESOL Ph.D. program, in the M.A. in Teaching English program, in the B.S. in English Education program, and in the Liberal Studies English program. She regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in English and English Education, including Adolescent Literature, Speech and Communication in Secondary English, Shakespeare, Research on Teaching Literature and Literacy, Introduction to Literature by Women, and Teaching Writing. In addition, she serves as an advisor to B.S. in English Education students and as a reader of dissertations in the Composition and TESOL program.
Since 2002, Dr. Alvine has served as director of the IUP Oxford Summer Study Program, a three-week study abroad collaboration among SSHE faculty. Dr. Alvine serves the university as a member of the IUP Safe Zone Program and the GLBT Commission, and serves the wider Indiana community as a member of the Indiana Cares Campaign to End Homophobia.
At home, Dr. Alvine enjoys reading and gourmet cooking and shares her home with Linda Cline and their sheltie dog, Sandy, and their pug/Chihuahua dog, Bella Brown.
Dr. Michael M. Williamson
Sutton Hall, Rm. 351
(724) 357-2671
mmwimson@iup.eduDr. Michael M. Williamson received the Ph.D. in Research and Evaluation from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Graduate School of Education, at the State University of New York at Buffalo, 1984. He has taught at IUP for 28 years, teaching courses in English Liberal Studies, the Bachelor of Science in English Education, and graduate programs in Composition and TESOL, including the MATE program.
His research interests include writing assessment, technology and literacy, research methodology, teacher education, and historical research.
Over the last 28 years, he has also directed a number of dissertations that focused on linguistics, literacy, composition studies, and writing assessment. His work has been published in Research in the Teaching of English, Assessing Writing, and the Journal of Writing Assessment, among other journals. He has published three books, including one that addresses writing assessment. His most recent research focuses on college students’ responses to literature.
Dr. Jo-Anne Kerr
Sutton Hall, Rm. 359(724) 357-2617jo.kerr@iup.eduDr. Jo-Anne Kerr, associate professor of English, is the director of the undergraduate English Education Program. She joined IUP’s English department in 2005 after having taught high school English for 25 years. She earned a B.A. in English with teacher certification from Seton College, an M.Ed. in English Education from IUP, and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Linguistics from IUP. She has published articles in the Middle School Journal, English Journal, Educational Considerations, and Field Experience Journal. She has also presented at National Council of Teachers annual conventions, the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English Language Arts conferences, and the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators annual Teacher Education Assemblies. She has been the recipient of the Outstanding English Education Advisor Award four times.
