Student Spotlights
Renée Padilla
Master’s Student in Library Science, University of North Texas
“As a graduate of St. Mary’s University, I’m excited to continue my journey at the University of North Texas to study Library Science.
The English Literature and Language Department prepared me in many of the expected ways—my coursework strengthened my writing and introduced me to inspiring authors and poets. But more so, the ELL community helped me discover myself.”
Alex Salinas
Marketing Communications Specialist, Sirius Computer Solutions
“The Master of Arts in English Literature and Language program at St. Mary’s University prepared me well to be a writing professional and a poet. Above all, the rigorous theory courses supplied me with the passion to be a purposeful lifelong reader—the guy who will now always gift books year-round to friends, because books are perspective, and knowledge is our greatest liberator.
Did I mention the professors are pretty dope?”
Lane Riggs
Ph.D. Student in Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design, Clemson University
“The English Literature and Language program at St. Mary’s University was so welcoming and friendly, I immediately made friends within the program. And of course, a lot of the ELL faculty are super helpful and are always there for advice.
It’s a small community and you can really tell that the faculty want you to succeed and will do what they can to help you.”
Professors Emeriti
- Brother Anthony P. Frederick, S.M., Professor Emeritus of English, 1978
- Brother Louis A. Schuster, S.M., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of English, 1988.
- SM Sister Ann Semel, SSND, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English and Communication Studies, 2010.
- Peggy Curet, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English and Communication Studies, 2016.
- Rose Marie Cutting, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English and Communication Studies, 2017.
- Alice Kersnowski, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English Literature and Language, 2022.
Richard S. Pressman, Ph.D., taught and served as an administrator at St. Mary’s for 37 years. He was a specialist in the period of American Realism and Naturalism, then moved to the Early American novel. His favorite course, a graduate, was the History of the U.S. Novel.
During his time at St. Mary’s, he served in Spanish-speaking countries four times, once as a Fulbright fellow in Peru and three times in St. Mary’s programs in Mexico and Spain. [He and his wife have travelled to at least 20 countries, mainly Spanish-speaking.]
He is presently the publisher of Early American Reprints, a not-for-profit rescuer of out-of-print Early American texts. He also leads a faculty book discussion club, the Classics Reading Group.
Gwendolyn Díaz-Ridgeway obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Austin and specializes in Comparative Literature with concentrations in Spanish, French and English. She served as Graduate Director for the English Master´s Degree and has taught Comparative Literature, Literary Theory and Latin American Literature.
She founded and directed Las Americas Letters Series in Literature and the Arts, an annual series that features authors and artists of the Americas and has served as President of the South Central Modern Language Association.
Her awards include the Fulbright and Carnegie Mellon Scholar Awards and the Distinguished Professor Awards for both Graduate and Undergraduate teaching.
Currently she is Advisor to the San Antonio Library´s Book Festival, heads the Women´s Committee of PEN Argentina and is on the board of the University Women´s Club of Buenos Aires. She continues to publish scholarship in the area of Science and Literature as well as essays and short stories.
You can reach her by email at gdiazridgeway@stmarytx.edu.
Professors Emeriti
Academic Programs in the Department of English Literature and Language
Faculty in the Department of English Literature and Language
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Margaret Cantú-Sanchez, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor of English -
Mallory Coley, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor -
Bonita Dattner Pfleiger, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor of English Literature and Language -
Benjamin “Josh” Doty, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of English Literature and Language -
Mary Lynne Gasaway Hill, Ph.D., FRSA Professor of English Literature and Language -
Refugio “Ito” Romo, Ph.D. Professor of English Literature and Language -
Melissa Scully Visiting Lecturer of English Literature and Language -
Nicole López, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor of English -
Derek J. Delgado, M.A., M.F.A. Visiting Instructor of English