Signum University

Departments: MA Faculty

  • Dr. Faith Acker clearly looks at home in the depths of the forbidden region of arcane libraries, with her professional jacket and serious glasses, but that smile just invites everyone along for the adventure!

    Faith Acker

    Faith Acker first joined Signum in 2011, serving as a preceptor for the inaugural course “The Great Tales: Tolkien and the Epic.” She has precepted for several additional Tolkien courses as well as Latin I and II, and is co-lecturer for “Shakespeare and the Middle Ages” and sole designer of “The Life and Times of…

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  • Dr. Erin Aust is a woman of European ancestry who is wearing a really lovely beaded necklace in garnet and white stones with her dark green lapelled top. Her wispy hair is trying to escape a bun and her smile is quiet and kind.

    Erin Aust

    Erin Aust received her BA in English and Sociology from Washington College and her MA in Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University, where she completed her thesis entitled Methods of Evaluation: The Academic Struggle Over J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. She teaches English Composition at Montgomery College and has worked…

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  • Corey Olsen's snow white beard and glasses might hint at his serious academic standing... but there's no way to hide that grin of delight, discovery and adventure. He's clad in dark colors before a dark background, but his eyes are shining.

    Corey Olsen

    Dr. Corey Olsen is the President of Signum University and Mythgard Institute. In addition to teaching classes on J.R.R. Tolkien, Chaucer, and modern fantasy literature for Signum, Dr. Olsen has extended the concept of the digital classroom to include non-traditional outlets. Through the Mythgard Academy, he offers free weekly lectures on works of speculative fiction…

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  • Chris Vaccaro is gazing at us from in front of lots of books, papers, and filing cabinet drawers with a hint of wry amusement. He's a man of European descent with a dignified bald head and full dark beard. He's dressed in a button down shirt with light stripes and we suspect he is in his academic office in Burlington, Vermont.

    Christopher T. Vaccaro

    Christopher Vaccaro joined Signum University over the Summer 0f 2016. He is a Senior Lecturer of English at the University of Vermont, where he teaches courses on Beowulf, Old English language and literature, surveys of early British Literature, and Tolkien. He has been teaching online courses since 2002. Christopher has published essays on early medieval…

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  • Carl Edlund Anderson has a full beard and sparkly blue eyes and European ancestry. He is outdoors, probably plotting the next treasure hunt or LARP for his child!

    Carl Edlund Anderson

    Carl Edlund Anderson holds an A.B. in Folklore & Mythology from Harvard College and a Ph.D. from the Faculty of English (Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, & Celtic) at the University of Cambridge, with studies focused on Medieval and Pre-Medieval Scandinavia, as well as a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) from the British…

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  • A Canadian man of European descent stands outdoors near a tree displaying autumnal russet leaves. His unruly dark sandy hair gives him a boyish air, despite the horn-rimmed glasses and groomed goatee.

    Brenton Dickieson

    Besides teaching in the literature department at Signum University, Dr. Brenton Dickieson is Lecturer in Literature at The King’s College in New York City, Lecturer in Theology and Literature at Maritime Christian College in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Sessional Instructor in the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture at the University of Prince…

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  • Nelson Goering is probably hiking as this photo is being shot. He's got an excited, clear-eyed expression, he's wearing a warm hat and a blue parka, and we see scrub and rocks on a slope behind him. He looks like he's having the best time ever!

    Nelson Goering

    Dr. Nelson Goering hails from the Ocooch Mountains in Wisconsin, and holds a DPhil in Comparative Philology and General Linguistics from the University of Oxford. His research interests centre on the linguistics of the older Germanic and Indo-European languages, and he has a particular love for Old English, Old Norse, Gothic, and Avestan. His book…

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