Lori Askeland, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Office: Hollenbeck Hall 123 (937) 327- 7061
E-mail: laskeland@wittenberg.edu

 Lori Askeland grew up on a farm near a small Iowa town called Buffalo Center. When she was about 3 years old she started attending Sunday School. Her teacher, alas, became ill after only a few weeks, and the preschool class had to be cancelled. Meanwhile, however, she had become a dedicated aficionado of the weekly story hour at the public library. So, one day she explained to her godmother, "I used to go to Sunday School, but now I go to the library."

Thirty (or so . . .) years later, you can still generally find Dr. Askeland within spitting distance of a library. Her research interests focus on American family issues--specifically adoption and foster children in American fiction and culture during the 19th century. She is currently editing a reference volume on the history of adoption and foster care in America for Greenwood Press. But she also teaches courses on African American Literature, American Women's Literature, Literary Theory, and Cultural/American Studies. However, since she currently serves as the Wittenberg representative to the Lilly Foundation Program for church-related colleges, sings in a church choir, and loves to read spiritual autobiographies, her godmother will be relieved to know that she hasn't gotten too far away from the Sunday School, either.

Visit Lori Askeland's personal webpage.