The College of Arts and Humanities welcomes the following new English faculty:

Dr. Juan Carlos Mantilla is an Ecuadorian scholar of the art histories and comparative literatures of early modernity. He holds a doctorate from Columbia University in Latin American and Iberian Cultures, Comparative Literature and Society, and Medieval and Renaissance. His teaching and research focus on the creative interactions between different fields of knowledge across the Global South, combining material and visual culture, the history of writing and literacy, geology and archaeology and critical theory.

Dr. Michele McConnell specializes in literacy studies, adolescent literacies, critical literacy, and collaborative and participatory writing practices. She has 17 years of experience working with K-12 students across California. Prior to starting her position at Fresno State, McConnell mentored in-service teachers through their master’s degrees as they completed action research. She is excited to be working with future English teachers in the Central Valley.

Brenna Womer (she/they) is the author of the full-length, mixed-genre collections "Unbrained" and "honeypot," as well as the chapbooks "cost of living" and "Atypical Cells of Undetermined Significance." Her work has appeared in the North American Review, the Indiana Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, DIAGRAM and elsewhere. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Northern Michigan University, and a master's in English from Missouri State University.