A Semester With Dr. Rausch

During the Fall 2023 semester, I took Methods Of Analysis & Evaluation Of Writing, which was essentially the last writing class I had to take before graduating.  It was a small class of, including myself, 7 people, that met in the Honors wing of Whitney Center (even though it wasn’t an Honors class), taught by Dr. Rausch.  

Juliana Rausch got her Bachelor’s & Ph.D in American Literature & Critical Theory from Temple University.  She’s been working here as a Lecturer from close to 5 years now, starting in September of 2019.  She has published original research in Literary Journalism, along with a book review in American Book Review.  She has taught a wide array of courses, in her own words, “from college composition to professional writing to writing methodology and theory.  

In Methods, we had to write four papers based on the topics and ideas we had been reading about and discussing.  Specifically, they were on critical summaries, authorship, visual rhetoric, and literary narratives.  Dr. Rausch taught these subjects in an engaging way, because she brought in readings and videos that she found interesting and wanted to discuss with the class.  In a similar way, she let us choose any piece of art from any medium to focus on in our essays, as long as we focused on the topic at hand.  It was a wonderful experience getting to have this freedom, as I then was excited to apply the course learnings.  At the end of the semester, I felt as though I had written some of the strongest works in my time here at Rowan.  
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In a quick conversation with Dr. Rausch, I asked her about her experiences over the past 5 years at Rowan and throughout this past semester.  When I asked about how she felt about Rowan, she responded, “I appreciate that even though I am a faculty member, I am provided with opportunities to serve the Rowan community outside the classroom”.  She added that she loves the Writing Arts department, and that she has “the most supportive, caring colleagues who make [her] thankful for my job every single day”.  Her favorite part of teaching is “getting to know students on a personal level”, and she says it’s “very rewarding to listen and learn from my students and build trusting relationships with them”.  

She also brought up that she is currently the Faculty Fellow for High Impact Practices & Student Equity here at Rowan.  High impact practices are meant as ways for students to apply knowledge learned in class, as well as grow relations between students and faculty / students who are different from themselves.  Dr. Rausch’s current role involves creating an inventory of all the different high impact practices Rowan currently has, so that Rowan can ensure “equitable learning outcomes for all students”.  

When asked what her experience with her role as Faculty Fellow, she replied, “The experience so far has been amazing. It allows me to contribute meaningfully to initiatives designed to promote equity, access, and inclusion, all of which are important to me and the people I work with. I have also really enjoyed collaborating with different departments and programs across campus, meeting new people, and just feeling connected to the broader Rowan community”.  
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A common theme across all of the answers Dr. Rausch gave is her focus on community and building relationships with other people, both faculty and students alike.  This doesn’t come as a surprise to me, based on the semester I had her as a teacher.  As our Methods class would begin drafting an essay, she would have built-in one-on-one meetings to discuss our progress with the writing.  This seems to be a practice she implements across all of her classes, as it allows for direct feedback and time to help students create the writing pieces they envision.  She would read through everyone’s drafts and took time to make notes/ask questions that showed that she was putting the effort in for all her students.

It also allows her time to get to know the students and talk to them about anything else, be it her class, other classes, life, et cetera.  In the scheduled time I had with Dr. Rausch, we talked about lots of things, ranging from upcoming class topics to eventually my worries or problems I was currently facing.  She always wants to put her best foot forward and both get to know all of her students, and help them in any way she can.  It feels as though she wants you to do the best you can and properly succeed, not just coast through the class.

And you know, this isn’t a feeling that is exclusive to Dr. Rausch.  I would say that all of the professors I’ve had during my time at Rowan have acted this way as well.  Everyone in the Writing Arts Department wants to get to know you as a person and see you succeed as a student.  It’s a very welcoming environment with a wonderful faculty.  So why did I choose to write about Dr. Rausch?

As I briefly mentioned before, one of the essays was a Literary Narrative, and I wrote a very personal essay about the people in my life that I am/were great friends with and how their love of art inspired my love of art.  Dr. Rausch was super kind and supportive through the process and I felt comfortable enough to write that essay for her class.  It was the last paper, so class ended before the essay was due, and once she graded it, she left an extremely sweet and touching note on the paper and my presence in class for the semester.  It is one of the nicest things someone has said/written about me, and I really appreciate her kindness.  So this is my thank you, a piece of writing directed back at her, appreciating her presence during that semester.
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I also recorded an interview with Dr. Rausch, going over different questions about her literaty journey.  We talked about what brought her to become a professor, why she chose English/Writing as her subject, and why she came to Rowan, among other things.  Check it out here.  

Written By: Robert Scanlon

PODCAST LINK