Faculty

Shannon Gramse

Chair, Associate Professor
sggramse@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6889

Shannon Gramse began teaching writing at UAA in 1996 while earning his M.F.A in poetry. When he is not teaching, writing, reading, or working to make UAA a better place for everyone, he loves to cross country ski and spend time with his family at their cabin on an island in the Susitna Valley. 

Carrie Aldrich

Assistant Professor
claldrich@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6480
PSB 102-G

Carrie Aldrich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing. She earned a Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Iowa, a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Bachelor’s degrees in English Education and Sociology from Indiana University. Carrie teaches a variety of writing courses, coordinates writing placement, is faculty liaison to the Writing Center, and serves as a member of the Faculty Senate Diversity Committee. Her research focuses on socio-cultural approaches to retention and success in first year writing. In all of her work, she strives to develop a healthy culture of literacy in homes, classrooms, and communities. She and her son live downtown Anchorage with two painted turtles and an ant farm.

Martha Amore

Instructor
mjamore@alaska.edu
(907) 786-4381
PSB 102-K

Martha Amore achieved her M.F.A. from UAA in 2009, and she has been teaching, writing, and publishing ever since. She loves spending time with her family, hiking with her overly enthusiastic shepherd mix, and commuting to campus on her flashy bicycle.

 

Angela Andersen

Instructor
asandersen@alaska.edu
(907) 786-4372
PSB 204

Chaun Ballard

Instructor
clballard@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6851
PSB 102-N

Chaun Ballard is an affiliate editor for Alaska Quarterly Review, a Callaloo fellow, and a graduate of the MFA Program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

His chapbook, Flight, is the winner of the 2018 Sunken Garden Poetry Prize and is published by Tupelo Press. His writings have appeared or are forthcoming in Columbia Poetry Review, Narrative Magazine, Rattle, The New York Times Magazine, Tupelo Quarterly, and other literary magazines. His work has received nominations for both Best of the Net and a Pushcart Prize.

He has lived in the Middle East and West Africa and has spent ten years wandering the halls of education, otherwise known as “Middle Earth.” He loves reading, writing, spending time with his wife, and learning from his colleagues and students alike, but he loathes inadvertently creating sentences with slant rhymes.

Aisha Barnes

Instructor
aabarnes@alaska.edu
(907) 786-4363
PSB 102-P

Douglass Bourne

Instructor
dabourne@alaska.edu
(907) 786-4380
PSB 102-T

After earning an MA in Literature and Composition and an MFA in Creative Writing, Douglass Bourne began teaching many writing/composition courses at UAA in 2011. During his free time, he enjoys working on his own writing projects, volunteering for the Anchorage International Film Festival, and spending time in the great outdoors of Alaska with his fiancé and their two dogs.

Shane Castle

Instructor
sdcastle@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6823
PSB 102-N

Shane Castle has taught a variety of writing courses at UAA and other universities since 2004. His writing has appeared in a number of well-respected literary journals and newspapers and he is an affiliate editor of Alaska Quarterly Review. Besides reading and writing, a few of his favorite activities include hiking, picking berries, and viewing wildlife.

Greg Hartley

Assistant Professor
gphartley@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6843
PSB 102-H

Greg fell into higher education at a ridiculously early age and eventually wound up with a PhD in English Literature from the University of South Florida. While initially a specialist in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, the long decades in academia have spawned a host of mini-professions as well: museum docent, children’s theatre, college registrar, even amateur travel agent. Greg won’t pursue anything that doesn't fascinate him, but fortunately nearly everything does.

Sarah Kirk

Professor
sjkirk@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6851

Sarah Kirk began teaching basic reading and writing at UAA in 1994 for the Department of Developmental Education. Raised in Chugiak, Alaska, Sarah has lived briefly in other countries: Australia, Italy, and Norway. Soon, she plans to spend time living and teaching in Vietnam. She enjoys her husband’s cooking, her daughter’s laughter, and watching UAA volleyball games.

 

Sarah Prielipp

Assistant Professor
seprielipp@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6889
PSB 102-J

Don Rearden

Professor
djrearden@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6893
PSB 102-L

According to The Washington Post, Don Rearden is “a master of suspense.” A novelist, screenwriter, and sometimes poet, his books include The Raven's Gift, Never Quit, and Warrior's Creed. When he's not hanging out with rock stars and celebrities, he spends time at an undisclosed location in the mountains with his family and a pair of ravens. 

Sara Rufner

Instructor
sjrufner@alaska.edu
(907) 786-6871
PSB 102-R

Sara Rufner has lived in Alaska since 2001 and earned her MFA in creative nonfiction from UAA in 2004. In her free time, Sara enjoys running, and exploring the outdoors with her family.