Information
Alumni Profiles
We are so proud of the graduates of the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction: Concentration in Literacy Studies (formerly Reading/Language Arts). Our alumni work in various positions within the state of Florida, across the country, and around the world. Below, we have featured many of our prominent alumni. We invite you to read about their work and visit their websites to find out how our alumni are making a difference in the literate lives of children, adolescents, and adults.
If you are a Ph.D. alumni of the USF Department of Childhood Education and Literacy Studies, let us know how you are doing.
Susan Bennett, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Mississippi
Dr. Susan V. Bennett received a B.A. from The Ohio State University and Northern Kentucky University. She received her Ph.D. in Literacy Education from the University of South Florida. She taught elementary school on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and in urban schools in Ohio and Florida. She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include culturally responsive teaching, writing instruction, and teacher education.
Merry Boggs, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Education, Dalton State College
After earning her doctorate from USF, Merry taught overseas for a year in Cairo, Egypt. She returned to the US for her first faculty position at Texas A&M. Merry continued with stops in Tarleton State and Texas A&M Commerce. She spent a total of nine years as a faculty member and the last two years as an assistant department chair before earning tenure at Texas A&M-Commerce. In 2009, Merry accepted a position as Dean, School of Education, at Dalton State College. She was also named co-editor of Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) Yearbook. Merry owes her success as a university faculty member to the preparation and experiences that she received at USF. She would especially like to thank Dr. Jim King for his mentoring throughout her doctoral program. She also sends a special thanks to her family for their support through her doctoral studies and professional career.
Mildred Falcón-Huertas, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Puerto Rico in Bayamón
Dr. Falcón-Huertas teaches courses in language development, early literacy and curriculum in early childhood education. Her publications and research interests are in the area of early literacy and teachers’ beliefs.
Cher Gauweiler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, St. Petersburg College
Dr. Cher Gauweiler is a professor of Elementary Education at St. Petersburg College in Tarpon Springs, Florida. In addition to teaching, she presents her research at state and national conferences and publishes in various journals. In June, 2007, Dr. Gauweiler received the opportunity to work with the National Theater Workshop for the Handicapped in Belfast, Maine, for three weeks on a dramatic production. In November of 2009, she will travel to Jamaica with a colleague at SPC to work with rural children in Ocho Rios. Dr. Gauweiler learned the value of teaching, scholarship, and service during her doctoral program at USF. She appreciates the preparation that she received from the committed professors in the doctoral program.
Annmarie Alberton Gunn, Ph.D.
AnnMarie Alberton Gunn is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Her research interests include second language literacy acquisition, culturally responsive teaching, and teacher education.
Steve Hart, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, California State University, Fresno
Dr. Hart is an Assistant Professor in the Literacy & Early Education Department at California State University-Fresno. Dr. Hart teaches adolescent literacy methods courses to preservice teachers, assessment and instruction courses for Reading Specialist Master’s Degree students, and supervises Reading Specialist Master’s Degree students in field-based experiences. Dr. Hart’s dissertation was published as a book, Service-Learning Literacies: Lessons Learned from Middle School Youth, and he has had several articles and book chapters published detailing his research on critical literacy, adolescent literacy, and service-learning pedagogy. Dr. Hart's research continues in these areas through his involvement in the Fresno community, helping to establish a charter high school focused on service-learning for disengaged youth, consulting for and studying the Reading & Beyond after-school literacy program, and designing service-learning experiences for his students.
Deborah Kozdras, Ph.D.
Instructor and Chief Creative Officer, Stavros Center at the University of South Florida
Dr. Kozdras joined the Stavros Center at the University of South Florida, College of Education in 2010 as an Instructor and Chief Creative Officer. Prior to her work at the Stavros Center Dr. Kozdras worked for 11 years as an elementary school teacher. From 2005-2010 she completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Literacy and the English Language Arts at the University of South Florida. While completing the program, Dr. Kozdras was the recipient of a Carnegie Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Academy of Education. She has presented both research and practical workshops at a variety of national and international conferences and has published a variety of articles, book chapters, and lesson plans.
Diane Kroeger, Ph.D.
Instructor, University of South Florida, Tampa
Diane earned her Ph.D. in Reading/Language Arts in 2010. Her research interests are literacy policy, adolescent literacy and orthographic development. Currently, she is a visiting instructor for the Department of Childhood Education and Literacy Studies where she teaches courses for the Master of Arts in Reading and Master of the Art of Teaching programs.
Melinda Lundy, Ph.D.
Language Arts Curriculum Specialist, Manatee County Schools
Dr. Melinda Lundy is a Language Arts Curriculum Specialist in the School District of Manatee County. This outlet affords her the opportunity to pursue her research interests in the role of teacher talk as it pertains to facilitating children’s developing literary understanding, effective reading instruction, and the perspectives adopted by teachers in their day-to-day practice. Melinda also teaches literacy courses for USF as an adjunct professor, which allows her to share her knowledge and experience while inspiring enthusiasm in the field that she loves.
Heidi Anne E. Mesmer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
Dr. Heidi Anne completed her dissertation research in the Washington, DC area and worked as a research assistant at WESTAT. Then she took a tenure-earning position at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she worked for two years. Following that position, Heidi Anne and her husband accepted tenure-earning positions at Oklahoma State University, where she worked for 5 years. At OSU, Heidi Anne directed the Reading and Math Center for two years in addition to teaching classes and conducting research. Heidi Anne received an NAE/Spencer Postdoc as well as an AERA/IES small grant. She has co-written several professional development grants through REA and through NCLB, Title II and she published “Tools for Matching Readers to Texts: Research-Based Practices” (Guilford Press).
In 2007, Heidi Anne accepted her current position at Virginia Tech, to be closer to family. She has 2 children, Davis (9) and Lindy (7). Heidi Anne continues to be very involved in field-based research, teaching reading courses in schools, and working with teachers. She is actively involved in school buildings, preschools, and childcare centers 3-5 times per week. Heidi Anne really likes what she does and she credits the strong field-based components in her doctoral training at USF, the many teaching experiences that she had, and the encouragement of Susan Homan, Jim King, Mary Alice Barksdale (who she currently works with), and Kathy Laframboise, Priscilla Griffith, and Jenifer Schneider with her success. Dr. Mesmer states that, "USF has a great program, a great place to prepare for the professoriate, and amazing people."
Vanessa Minick, Ph.D.
Instructor, University of South Florida
Dr. Vanessa Minick is an Instructor for the University of South Florida in the Literacy Studies program. Her main research interests are writing and writing development.
Sharon Moser, Ph.D.
Dr. Sherry Moser is an elementary school teacher currently serving as an Academic Intervention Facilitator for Polk County Schools. Her research interest is federal education policy with a focus on how teachers perceive Adequate Yearly Progress requirements as mandated under NCLB. 
Annie Hirt Nelson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Education; Strand Coordinator, MAT 5th Year Program (Eugene)
Dr. Nelson was a middle school Language Arts teacher and a high school reading coach before earning her Ph.D from the University of South Florida. Her research interests include literacy and the brain, literacy and language development, literacy assessment, and remedial reading practices for struggling readers.
Jan Richardson, Ph.D.
Literacy Consultant
Jan Richardson, Ph.D. is an educational consultant who travels throughout the United Sates training teachers and providing classroom demonstrations on reading and writing workshop. Her most recent book, The Next Step in Guided Reading, provides teachers with practical suggestions and lesson plans for increasing the power and impact of guided reading.
Karen Kelley Rigoni, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Dr. Karen Kelley Rigoni, Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, teaches language arts methods, children’s literature, and reading in the content area courses. She serves as the committee chair and the Director-elect for the Middle Childhood through Early Adolescent program that certifies teachers in grades 1-8. Dr. Kelley Rigoni was awarded a grant in 2008 to found the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Writing Project that allows her to work with teachers to improve writing instruction across the Milwaukee area. Her publications include articles in Action in Teacher Education and The Clearinghouse and a chapter in Process Drama: An Educational Tool for Developing Multiple Literacies.
Coleen Sams, Ph.D.
Honors English Teacher, Pinellas County Schools
Dr. Coleen Sams graduated in Summer 2009 and currently works as an English teacher in Pinellas County Schools. Coleen’s dissertation research focused on culturally responsive teaching in pre-service teacher education.
Tammy Weiss Schimmel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Tampa
Dr. Schimmel taught elementary school in Hillsborough County, FL, for ten years prior to completing her doctorate. She has supervised interns in local public elementary schools for several years and worked as an adjunct professor. Dr. Schimmel is dedicated to working with students pursuing degrees in elementary education and instructing them in best practices so that they will be successful teachers. In addition to her work at The University of Tampa, she is a member of the International Reading Association, the Florida Reading Association, and the National Council of Teachers of English. She co-chairs UT’s chapter of Kappa Delta Pi and serves on the curriculum committee. She also volunteers at her children’s school in the media center and chairs the literacy committee.
Ruth Sylvester, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of South Florida Polytechnic
Before her current position at USF Polytechnic, Dr. Sylvester was an assistant professor at Southeastern University. Throughout her career she held various roles in education, including elementary grade teacher, technology teacher, and assistant principal responsible for curriculum and instruction. In 2007, Ruth spearheaded chartering the Polk County Reading Council, a reading council associated with the International Reading Association. Ruth’s research focuses on effective writing instruction in the elementary grades, the use of technology to support writing, and the impact of curricular decisions on the learning of young children.