Signum University

Position/Title: Lecturer

  • Sara Brown's windswept brown hair reminds us that she lives in the wilds of Wales. She's got very serious horn-rimmed glasses and a lovely scarf, the very picture of a serious professor except that she's fighting back a grin and a dozen sharp puns.

    Sara Brown

    Sara Brown PhD MSc(Econ) serves Signum University as Language & Literature Department Chair and Thesis Coordinator for the MA Program.  She is a Lecturer and Preceptor within the Language and Literature faculty and has served as an Elected Faculty Member on the Board. Sara also teaches on the Signum SPACE Program. Sara Brown lives in…

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  • Robbie Park is looking us squarely in the eye with a broad grin as though this is about to turn into a wild adventure! her dark hair is swept to the side, she has dressed professionally for this photo, and she must have amazing stories to tell!

    Robbie Park

    Robbie Park has been working in both higher education and adult education for several years now. She holds a Master of Arts in History and a Master of Education in Adult and Organizational Learning, and has developed a number of courses for the Signum Path program. Robbie is extremely passionate about adult learning as well…

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  • Paul Peterson invites us to join him on a walk through an evergreen woods. He's dressed for professoring in jacket and button down with trim blond beard and hair, but he's leading us away from the comforts of civilization into the mysteries of the languages of the past!

    Paul Peterson

    Paul Peterson, a proud native of Minnesota, holds a Ph.D. in Germanic Medieval Studies from the University of Minnesota, where he studied Germanic philology and learned to read every Old Germanic language. He also holds an M.A. in Medieval Icelandic Studies from the University of Iceland. His primary area of specialization is Old Norse language…

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  • Dr. Maggie Parke greets you from the green hills of Wales. She's got an outdoorswoman's tan, swept-back dark hair, and a cheerful apple-cheeked smile.

    Maggie Parke

    Maggie focused on the adaptation processes of event films and fan management (Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, Twilight, His Dark Materials, Narnia, etc.), and her research included working on the sets of Twilight (2008), Captain America (2009), and on the Academy Award shortlisted short, Love at First Sight (2010). She also investigated the gaming industry, researching with Turbine Inc. on The…

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  • Dr. Liam Daley sports a trim beard and glasses to go with his big smile. He's somewhere outdoors with a stone wall in the background. He's clearly got laugh crinkles by his eyes.

    Liam Thomas Daley

    Dr. Liam Daley has been on the faculty at Signum University since its inaugural semester, Fall 2011. Liam earned his PhD in English at the University of Maryland, College Park, focusing on literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance – in particular, how the difference between “history” and “literature” changes from the Middle Ages to…

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  • Dr. Larry Swain has clearly got Hobbit ancestry. His round cheeks, curly dark grey hair, and wire rimmed spectacles speak of jovial nights sitting up with philosophy flowing.

    Larry Swain

    Larry Swain used to work in IT and libraries after receiving his B.A. in Religion-Greek and Linguistics. After 15 years, he earned an M.A. in Medieval Studies at the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University and then a Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His academic work focuses on early medieval preservation and…

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  • Kris Swank can barely hold in her bubbling laughter. She is clearly amused at this opportunity to share her image. She's leaning her chin on her beringed left hand and her green eyes and deep dimples remind us: Librarians Have More Fun.

    Kristine Ainsworth Swank

    Kris Swank is a Preceptor, Lecturer, and Library Coordinator at Signum University. She is also Library Director at Pima Community College–Northwest Campus, Tucson, Arizona. Kris holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, in Humanities and English, Dana College; and Masters degrees in Library Science (University of Arizona), International Management (Thunderbird), and Language and Literature (Signum…

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  • Gabriel Schenk's endearing asymmetrical smile belies the razor sharp mind behind the man raised in the airs of Oxford.

    Gabriel Schenk

    Gabriel teaches literature at Signum University, specializing in cultural histories, Arthuriana, and the works of the Inklings. He also teaches at Signum Path. Gabriel completed his D.Phil. at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 2014. His thesis analyses depictions of King Arthur, focusing on a period spanning the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries when the figure of Arthur became…

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  • 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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  • 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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