By Laura Kuzmicz
As the 2024 spring semester of Aquinas college comes to a conclusion, we say goodbye to many students and faculty members who are taking the next steps in their lives. Two notably important professors apart of the English faculty of Aquinas are saying their goodbyes this semester, concluding their teaching at the college.
Dr. Jennifer Dawson was well known for her appreciation of writing and Victorian literature. She taught an array of genre based classes and is very enthusiastic about the art form of literature and storytelling. Dr Dawson, earned her B.A. in English from the University of Michigan, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University with an emphasis on Early American Literature and Victorian Studies. She taught at Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University before joining Aquinas College’s faculty in 2001.
In 2008 and 2011, she applied her background in Irish Literature and History to co-directing the AQ Ireland program. Over the years, she has been active in Student Affairs: co-chairing the President’s Academic Integrity Committee in 2007 and helping with the Common Reading Program which she began chairing in 2010. Being appointed Associate Dean of Student Affairs in 2011 formalized this commitment to fostering student development and promoting academic integrity.
While not teaching, she enjoys reading in her spare time (especially Irish Literature), spending time with her husband and two children, and dreams of returning to Ireland, one of her most favorite countries.
The other English faculty member retiring from Aquinas college is Dr. Michelle DeRose. Dr DeRose joined the English Department full-time in August 1999 to use her specialty in post-colonial literature and theory to teach the world and African-American literature courses. She is also the Coordinator of the Irish Studies minor, and an active poet. Her publications include both original poetry and scholarly work on poetry, and her recent work examining literature from Ireland and various Caribbean islands resulted in the paper “The Island Metaphor in Poetry from Islands,” which she presented at the Interchanges conference in Ireland in 2015. In addition, Dr. DeRose is also an avid fan of movement and connecting with nature. She’s a hiker, canoeist, camper and skier. She enjoys doing these activities with her family and encourages everyone to appreciate the outside world around them. While Dr. DeRose is retiring, she will still be involved at the college as Aquinas’ very own poet in residence!
Both students and staff are going to miss these wonderful teachers whose works and contributions have inspired many English students and staff in this college. On behalf of the class of 2024 English students, we are going to miss both of you dearly, but we wish you a happy and healthy retirement! Congratulations to both of you!
The Saint 