Renee Byrd, Department of Sociology
Where are you originally from?
I was born in Southern California. We lived in Inglewood, Calif., until I was 8. Then we lived in Eureka for four years and I spent the rest of my childhood in Minneapolis.
Where did you complete your education?
I received my undergraduate degree in Ethnic Studies from Mills College in Oakland. I went to the University of Washington in Seattle for graduate school, completing my Ph.D. in the Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies.
Where have you taught prior to coming to HSU?
I taught some at the University of Washington and I spent two years teaching at Marlboro College in Southern Vermont as a Social Science Fellow.
What are your specific areas of expertise?
Mass incarceration, race & gender inequality, prison abolition.
What classes are you teaching this year?
CRIM 225s Inequalities & Crime, CRIM 433 Punishment & Justice in Cross-National Perspective, and CRIM 325 Law & Society
What attracted you to Humboldt State?
The diverse student body, beautiful environment, and wonderful colleagues.
What do you do in your free time outside the classroom?
Gardening, cooking, refinishing old furniture, reading African-American literature and playing with my cat.
What is your favorite classroom technique to engage students?
I really enjoy pulling quotes out of the reading and unpacking them with students.
What is the best thing about being a university professor?
I really enjoy the opportunity to see students grow and change throughout their undergraduate years. It is a privilege to be a part of that experience and to help students to discover their talents.
Where is the strangest place you’ve done research?
A prison.
If you weren’t an HSU professor, what would you be?
The Director of a non-profit or a caterer.
What superpower would be most valuable to your research?
Teleportation—I could be involved in activist research throughout the world without any fiscal constraints.
Laurie Pinkert, Department of English
Where are you originally from?
I am originally from Central Florida, Kissimmee in particular.
Where did you complete your education?
I earned my B.A. at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC.
I earned my M.A. at the University of Maine in Orono, ME.
I earned my Ph.D. at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.
Where have you taught prior to coming to HSU?
At the University of Maine, I taught college-level composition and teaching workshops for new TAs; at Purdue, I taught undergraduate level composition, writing center pedagogy, writing in the disciplines, and service-learning based writing courses in addition to graduate level pedagogy and grant writing courses. I also previously taught summer school at the high school and junior high levels and before that worked in pre-schools, too.
What are your specific areas of expertise?
General Area: Rhetoric and Composition
Specific Areas of Research and Interest: Composition Theory, Pedagogy, and Research Methods; Writing Program Administration (including design, assessment, and development); Writing Across the Curriculum; Writing in the Disciplines; Service Learning and Engagement; Multimodal Composing.
What classes are you teaching this year?
Accelerated Introduction to Rhetoric and Composition (English 104)
Advanced Research Writing (English 422)
Multimedia Writing (English 480)
Composition Theory (English 406)
Information Literacy and Writing Seminar (English 215)
What attracted you to Humboldt State?
I was excited to return to a university with a strong commitment to undergraduate education, a mission to engage students from diverse backgrounds, and a location in a geographically beautiful place.
What do you do in your free time outside the classroom?
Drinking hot tea (which I do in and out of the classroom), hiking, exploring the California coast, traveling, and baking.
What is your favorite classroom technique to engage students?
My favorite classes are the ones in which I can integrate engaged curricula or service-learning projects that connect students to audiences and writing scenarios outside the classroom. Having students work with community partners or write for a particular publication venue to which they’ll submit or a specific funding agency for which they’ll propose a project enables students to see themselves as authentic writers with a real purpose and a real audience.
What is the best thing about being a university professor?
I love the opportunity to see students develop confidence as writers and researchers in their majors, their fields of interest, or their communities. I’m also always excited when I get to work with current or future teachers of writing whether they’re in an English department, another discipline at the university-level, or a high school classroom. I learn so much from my students and my colleagues.
Where is the strangest place you’ve done research?
Most of my research happens in seemingly mundane places—with writers and teachers of writing; in classrooms, offices, or community sites; through surveys, interviews, and analysis of texts. However, these mundane sites where writing and teaching practices become invisible are centrally important to my work in making writing practices more visible on campuses and in communities.
If you weren’t an HSU professor, what would you be?
Hmmm… that’s a good question. I’d likely be editing or consulting professionally, particularly on grants, proposals, or maybe academic projects. I’ve done a lot of consulting work with scientists, especially those from international backgrounds, and I’ve always loved how much of the research/ideas I get to learn when one-one-one working with an author.
What superpower would be most valuable to your research?
Maybe the ability to breath fire. Then, I could make hot tea on demand when I’m analyzing data or reading survey results.