Faculty

Dr. Laura L. Gray
Associate Professor

Downs Hall
Room 102

918-343-7593
lgray@rsu.edu
Course Web Page

Education

Ph.D., Rhetoric
Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX
2002

• Dissertation: "Women and the American Interracial Movement: A Rhetorical Analysis"
  Examines rhetoric of women leaders of the early twentieth century interracial cooperation movement from a feminist perspective.

M.A., English
University of North Texas, Denton, TX
1992

B.A., Political Science, Minor: English (magna cum laude)
Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA
1987

Academic Experience

2002-Present
Associate Professor
Rogers State University, Claremore, OK

• Instructor for classes focused on composition, rhetorical analysis, formal research and research paper writing, literary analysis, and the humanities.
• Courses taught: First Year Writing, Humanities II, Introduction to Literature, Advanced Composition, The Novel, The Senior Capstone, Women in the Literary and Visual Arts

1997-2002
Graduate Teaching Assistant/ Graduate Assistant
Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX

• Teacher of Record for classes focused on composition, rhetorical analysis, formal research and research paper writing, literary criticism and grammar.
• Courses taught: ENG 1013 Composition and Literature I (traditional and computer-aided classroom instruction), ENG 1023 Composition and Literature II (traditional and computer-aided classroom instruction), ENG 2143 Fiction (Literature and Multicultural Course), ENG 3203 Advanced Grammar and Composition.

2001-2002
Editorial Assistant, SACS Self-Study
Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX

• Assist Editor in all aspects of office management and manuscript editing.

1999-2000
Program Assistant/Arrangements Coordinator, Computers and Writing 2000
Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX

• Assisted Co-Chairs in all aspects of conference management for this international academic and professional conference
• Conducted correspondence with key-note speakers and conference participants, assisting in travel, hotel, and presentation arrangements
• Solicited area businesses and media for sponsorship and support
• Assisted Co-Chair in conference database maintenance
• Designed Public Service Announcements for local media
• Arranged publicity and book signing for featured science fiction writers

1998-1999
Assistant to Director of Freshman English for Instructional Technology
Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX

• Assisted composition instructors in all aspects of working within computer-aided classroom
• Conducted monthly workshops on pedagogy and technology
• Maintained Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment software for composition classes
• Maintained computers and software in computer classroom
• Worked with Director of Freshman English in facilitating move to new Writing Center and classrooms

1991-1997
Adjunct Instructor
Brookhaven Community College

• Teacher of Record for classes focused on composition, critical thinking, formal research and research paper writing, introduction to literature, and American literature.
• Courses taught: ENGL 1301 Composition I, ENGL 1302 Composition II, ENGL 2327 American Literature, DWRI 0091 Developmental Writing, DWRI 0093 Developmental Writing, DCLS 0100 College Learning Skills

Forthcoming Book

Defiance and Decorum: Women, Public Rhetoric, and Activism. With Dene Grigar and Katherine Robinson. Under Contract and In Revision. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Referred Presentations

“Media Rhetoric and the Analysis of Texts: A Case Study Using Written, Auditory, and Kinetic Rhetorics to Analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have A Dream’ Speech.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. San Francisco, CA, March 2005.

"Demonstrating Defiance and Decorum: A Multimedia Performance of Ideas and Themes Posited by 20th Century Female Rhetors." Fourth Biennial Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Columbus, Ohio, October 2003.

"A Rhetoric of Cooperation?: Discursive Practices of Women Involved in the Interracial Movement of Early Twentieth-Century America." Tenth Biennial Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America. Las Vegas, NV, May 2002.

"Rhetoric of Interracial Cooperation: Diverse Strategies of African American Women in the 1920s." Conference on College Composition and Communication. Chicago, IL, March 2002.

"Practical Feminism: Searching for Assessment Tools in the Computer-based Composition Classroom." Computers and Writing Conference, Fort Worth, TX, May 2000.

"Issues of Race: Ethical Missteps in the Archives of Colored Women's Clubs." Federation of North Texas Universities Conference. Denton, TX, February 2000.

"Changing Courses in the Middle of the Stream: A Graduate Student's Perspective on Curricular Reform." Conference on College Composition and Communication. Minneapolis, MN, March 2000.

"Riding the Third Wave: Milton and Feminism in the Next Millennium." Federation of North Texas Universities Conference. Denton, TX, May 1998 (Published in Rhetoric and Technology in the Next Millenium. Ed. William E. Tanner and Suzanne Webb. Mesquite, TX: Caxton's, 1998).

Session Moderator, CEA Conference - San Antonio, TX, May 1998

Services

• University Academic Integrity Committee
• University Curriculum Committee
• Writing Faculty Committee
• Writing Faculty Liaison
• Humanities Faculty Committee
• Faculty Awards Committee (School and Pixely)
• Faculty Marshall
• Search Committees for English, Humanities, and Business positions
• BALA (Bachelors of Liberal Arts) Committee
•  NCA Self Study Committee Editor
• BALA Senior Capstone Committee
• Maurice Meyer Lecture Series Committee
• Martin Luther King Day Student Competition Committee

Honors and Awards

• The J. Dean Bishop Award for Excellence in (Classroom) Teaching - Texas Woman's University (1998-1999)
• Phi Kappa Phi Award in Recognition of High Scholastic Achievement - Texas Woman's University (1998/1999)
• Sharon Loretta Brocker Endowed Scholarship - Texas Woman's University (2000-2001)

Teaching/Research Interests

• Composition/Rhetoric (Cross-cultural, Feminist, Protest)
• Literature (American, Feminist, Multicultural)
• Historical/Social Movements
• Technology and Pedagogy

Professional Affiliations

• Modern Language Association
• Rhetoric Society of America
• NTCE