Faculty & Staff

Marco Devera, Instructor

mmdever1@olemiss.edu

After graduating from Oxford High School, Marco Devera received his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Legal Studies. Marco then returned to Oxford to complete his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in TESOL from the University of Mississippi. He began teaching in the Intensive English Program in June 2008. In addition to his studies in teaching English to speakers of other languages, Marco studied French at the university-level. He enjoys music, reading literature and playing tennis.

Esim Erdim, Professor of Applied Linguistics & Director of the TESL Program

eerdim@olemiss.edu

Esim Erdim was born in Izmir, Turkey, and received her first Ph.D. in American Literature from the Faculty of Letters in Ankara University. She taught American Literature and Language at Ege University, Izmir, Turkey for a number of years before she came to the United States to work on her second Ph.D. in Translation Studies with emphasis in TESOL at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. She is currently the director of the TESL Program in the Department of Modern Languages. Her publications include a book on Herman Melville's fiction and articles on Katherine A. Porter, Walker Percy and translations of Orhan Pamuk's work.

Ronald Fuentes, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics & Assistant Director of the TESL Program

Ronald Fuentes was born in Toronto, Canada, and received his Ph.D. in English Language & Rhetoric from the University of Washington. He joined the Intensive English Program as Assistant Director in Summer 2009 and additionally was appointed Instructional Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages. His research interests include language policy in education, bilingual education, and language and identity. Ronald is particularly interested in how different social, political, and educational decisions position individuals in multilingual and multicultural learning environments. Before coming to the University of Mississippi, Ronald taught English, composition, American literature in various countries around the world.

Brenda Hales, Instructor

bhales@olemiss.edu

Brenda Hales joined the Intensive English Program in 2004 after returning from a year of teaching EFL at Hanbat National University in Daejeon, South Korea. Originally from Mississippi, Brenda received her B.A. of Education in 1970 and her M.A. in TESOL in 2002 from the University of Mississippi. After twenty years working for the state and national governments in social services and claims, she retired to raise her two sons. She became interested in ESL when she sponsored a French exchange student. She returned to the University of Mississippi to study French in 1999 and later TESOL. Brenda loves to travel and has visited 12 foreign countries. Her home is always open to international visitors.

Lance Herrington, Instructor & Coordinator (Instructional Services)

lherring@olemiss.edu

Originally from Texas, Lance Herrington joined the Intensive English Program in 2007. He earned a B.A. in Art History from the University of Texas, and M.A. in Art History from the University of Mississippi, before returning to UM to work and study, earning a second M.A. in TESOL. Lance previously lived in Osaka, Japan, where he taught English, and traveled extensively throughout Japan. Since returning to Oxford, he has led groups of Ole Miss students to Japan for academic classes. Lance enjoys learning languages. At the college-level, he has studied French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. In addition, he enjoys reading, dancing, film, volleyball, and travel.

Tracy Kowslowski, Instructor & Coordinator (Social Events)

tlcase@olemiss.edu

Originally from New Orleans and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Tracy Case Koslowski joined the Intensive English Program in 2008. She first came to the University of Mississipppi in 1989 as an undergraduate, studying Linguistics with minors in German and Russian. She spent a year abroad studying in Giessen, Germany, and earned her Educator’s License upon completion of her B.A. degree while working as an English instructor for the Allegria troupe of Cirque du Soleil. She began her graduate studies in Klagenfurt, Austria and spent three years teaching German at Pascagoula High School before returning to UM to complete her M.A. in German, during which time she worked as graduate Teaching Assistant of German and spent her summer breaks either teaching English at the Berufskolleg in Hilden, Germany or teaching summer German classes at UM. She has since earned a second M.A. in TESL and worked as an ESL Tutor in the Oxford School District. Tracy has traveled extensively throughout western Europe, including several high school study trips to Germany and Austria. Travel is one of her favorite pastimes, but she also enjoys film, music, reading, most outdoor activities, and spending time with her family and friends.

Nelson Lopez, Program Coordinator

nelson@olemiss.edu

Originally from Costa Rica. Nelson Lopez came to Oxford in 2002 to complete his degree in Business Administration. Prior to joining the Intensive English Program in Spring 2008, he worked at the Study Abroad Office assisting with traveling groups. Nelson has visited several countries including, for example, South Africa, Mexico, French Guiana, and Belize. He enjoys traveling, meeting new people, dancing and practicing sports.

Velsie Pate, Staff Assistant

vdpate@olemiss.edu

Velsie Pate has been working at the University for 16 years in areas, such as Admissions, the Registrar's Office, the School of Liberal Arts, Study Abroad, the Office of Summer School, and since 2007, the Intensive English Program. She has a B.A. in Music, a B.A. in English, and is currently enrolled in the M.A. program in Southern Studies. Velsie also studied Spanish abroad in Costa Rica during the summer of 2003.

Dinorah Sapp, Instructor & Coordinator (Community ESL Program)

dsapp@olemiss.edu

Dinorah Sapp was born in Mexico City and arrived in the U.S. when she was 15 years-old to complete her high school education at a boarding school in Kingsville, Texas. She then went on to complete a Bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Spanish from Austin College in Sherman, Texas. She also holds a Master's Degree in Language Education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She is currently an instructor in the Intensive English Program and the coordinator for the Community ESL Program at the University of Mississippi. Her ESL classroom experience has been at the elementary, high school, and university levels. She has taught courses in Reading, Writing, ESL instruction and assessment, and teaching methods, as well as Spanish and Music. She also has experience in making Web pages and exploring how to integrate technology in classrooms, especially in populations such as minority language learners. She has lived in Germany and Austria, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe. In the summer of 2007, she led a group of students from the University of Mississippi to Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. She enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, playing badminton, and swimming.

Blake Shedd, Instructor

cbshedd@olemiss.edu

Blake Shedd, a native of Laurel, Mississippi, attended Jones County Junior College before transferring to Ole Miss to finish his B.A. with a double major in German and English, which he received in May 2005. He stayed in Oxford to begin an MA in German. While in the MA program, Blake participated in an exchange with the University of Education in Freiburg, Germany, where he taught English to students who were studying to be teachers of English. He graduated with his MA in May 2008. He began teaching in the Intensive English Program at the beginning of the fall semester in 2008. He enjoys gardening and learning new languages.

Tamara Warhol, Director & Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics

twarhol@olemiss.edu

Tamara Warhol received her B.A. cum laude in Religion from Princeton University and went to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue her graduate studies in TESOL and subsequently, Educational Linguistics. She joined the Intensive English Program as Director in Fall 2007 and additionally was appointed Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages. Within the Department of Modern Language, she teaches classes in Descriptive Grammar, Discourse Analysis, and Language Teaching Methods. Her research interests include classroom discourse and interaction, language socialization, the natural histories of discourse, and multiculturalism. Tamara has traveled, lived and worked throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia.