Who we are...

Editor-in-chief:  Athena Perrakis,   University of Southern California
I am Director of Interdisciplinary Programs for the
Ahmanson Humanities Initiative at USC, Office of the Dean.
My position requires me to support, manage and organize
faculty funding from a major endowment provided by The
Ahmanson Foundation. We have events throughout the academic
year, which we encourage faculty from across the country to
attend. If you would like more information, please e-mail
me at HumInit@usc.edu. This summer I am working part-time
as TA liaison at USC's Center for Excellence in Teaching.
In addition to editing this publication I enjoy reading,
writing and traveling to exotic locales; however, I rarely
leave for too long, because the mere idea of leaving my cat
behind breaks my heart.

Contributing Editor:   Meredith Larson,   Northern Illinois University
I am a graduate student at Northern Illinois University,
currently working on my M.A. in English with a focus in
linguistics/stylistics. I am the president of the
English honors society as well as the president of NIU's
Native American organization. I worked for two years as
a peer tutor of English and now teach first-year
composition, and as an undergraduate, I was co-editor of
a student newsletter for the English department. After
finishing my M.A., I am not sure what I want to do.
Teaching is nice, but I am not sure I can do it well
enough. And had I a dog, I am sure I would love it, but
for now I will love my cat, Sophia.

Contributing Editor:  Justin Ober,   University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
I'm a third-year undergraduate at the University of
Massachusetts Dartmouth, pursuing an English Writing and
Communication degree. When I'm not reading, writing, or
editing, I enjoy theater, playing my guitar, and water
sports of all kinds (maybe that's because I'm a pisces?)
Currently, I'm studying abroad at the University of Sydney
in Australia - I'm supposedly researching my Honors Thesis,
a novel about living abroad. I plan to finish up in June
and return home to the Boston area for my senior year.

Faculty Advisor to AE Extra:  Dr. Ben Varner,   University of Northern Colorado,CO
I am an Associate Professor of English at the University
of Northern Colorado. In addition to having the pleasure
of advising the student editors of AE Extra, I
enjoy teaching and researching Victorian Literature,
Composition Theory, the Bronte Sisters, and Charles
Dickens. I also serve as a Senior Editor of Academic
Exchange Quarterly.
As a Senior Editor, I am especially interested in receiving
well-written student essays focusing on education issues
from the student's point of view. These essays will
be considered for publication in AEQ, the parent
journal. Please send them to me as an e-mail or Word
attachment.

The views expressed in the AE Extra are
solely those of the writers and do not reflect the views
and opinions of the
Academic Exchange Quarterly, its staff,
or its members.