Faculty

Don Rearden

Chair, 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.

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

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

Dr. Martha Amore lives in Anchorage with her family, and she enjoys hiking with her overly enthusiastic shepherd mix and commuting to campus on her flashy bicycle. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in fiction and an interdisciplinary studies PhD (psychology and English) in feminist creative writing. In 2015, she received a Rasmuson Individual Artist Award, and soon after she and Lucian Childs edited the University of Alaska Press anthology Building Fires in the Snow: A Collection of Alaska LGBTQ Short Fiction and Poetry, which was a finalist for a LAMBDA Literary Award. Her collection of short fiction, In the Quiet Season & Other Stories, came out in 2018. She is currently hard at work on a new book.

Angela Andersen

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

Aisha Barnes

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

Douglass Bourne

Assistant Professor
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

Assistant Professor
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.

Shannon Gramse

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.

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.

Emily Madsen

Assistant Professor
emadsen6@alaska.edu
(907) 786-4371
ADM 101-E

Emily is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing. She earned her PhD in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is currently working on a project that applies Indigenous conceptions of genre to traditional readings of Victorian texts. Emily plays the violin in the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra and lives in Anchorage with her family.

Sarah Prielipp

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

Sarah Prielipp has a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing from Michigan State University (go Green!). As a community-engaged, cultural rhetorics scholar, she focuses on writing in a variety of contexts both in and out of the classroom. Her current research projects include a collaborative, longitudinal project with colleague, Carrie Aldrich, to study students' experiences during and after the ALP model. She is also researching participatory assessment as antiracist pedagogy and praxis. When not in the classroom, she enjoys making things -- food, crafts, home improvements -- and attending her family's athletic and academic activities.

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.

Faculty & Staff Directory