Signum University

Position/Title: Preceptor

  • Julian Barr's bespectacled smile reveals a dimple or two in his neatly-trimmed red-blond goatee. He wears a crisp blue shirt and grey jacket and stands partly turned toward his collection of books—young paperbacks and venerable old hardbacks—which are punctuated by a wee replica statue of Lupa suckling Romulus and Remus and a replica bronze helm which looks like the one on the cover of the Chickering Beowulf,but given Dr. Barr's interest in rem Romanorum, it might be Roman, so I'll have to ask him about that.

    Julian Barr

    After completing his PhD in Classical Studies at the University of Queensland and Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education at the Queensland University of Technology, Julian published the academic monograph Tertullian and the Unborn Child through Routledge, as well as several articles on classical mythology and rhetoric. A life-long devotee of fantasy, Julian also published the…

    Read more: Julian Barr
  • Sparrow is a euro-looking woman with hazel eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. She's smiling, looking directly at you, and sitting in front of a poster which is a graphic blues and greens depiction of the Julia Set, a numerical concept related to fractals. Her shawl is hand-knit in the shape of a maple leaf, and if you'd like a link to the pattern, I'd be happy to share that with you.

    Sparrow F. Alden

    Sparrow graduated from Bowdoin College in 1986 with a BA in English Literature and Psychology and from Signum University in 2015 with an MA in Language and Literature.  She is co-owner/builder of a straw bale cabin in the New Hampshire woods with her wife Grace; they are grateful for the technology which keeps them in touch…

    Read more: Sparrow F. Alden
  • 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…

    Read more: Sara Brown
  • 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…

    Read more: Paul Peterson
  • 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…

    Read more: Maggie Parke
  • 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…

    Read more: Liam Thomas Daley
  • 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…

    Read more: Larry Swain
  • 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…

    Read more: Kristine Ainsworth Swank
  • Jessica is a woman of European descent with horn rimmed glasses, hoop earrings, dark blonde shoulder length hair. She has a sweet smile and a green cardigan sweater and what might be the strap to a purple purse showing.

    Jessica O’Brien

    Jessica O’Brien received her MA in Library and Information Science in 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an MA in Liberal Studies (2014), and an MS in Online Teaching and Instructional Design (2016) both from Lenoir-Rhyne University. She is an Associate Librarian and Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Lenoir-Rhyne University where she…

    Read more: Jessica O’Brien
  • This black and white photo of James Tauber does not dim the spark in his eyes. His glasses do not dim it. We are not distracted by his casual black attire. It's the eyes. They are mirrors. Do you need a challenge? Do you need to hear that you can do something you've never tried? Look into those mirrors. Really. You'll be able to pull your gaze away any time now.

    James K. Tauber

    James K. Tauber is a philologist, linguist, and software developer who works with scholars around the world using computers to better understand languages, texts, and music. He has worked with text corpora, markup languages, and Web technologies for over thirty years. He currently develops software for Signum University and the Perseus Digital Library among other…

    Read more: James K. Tauber