Bruce Beiderwell

Bruce Beiderwell (PhD, UCLA) has served as director of the UCLA Writing Programs since 2001. He regularly teaches developmental writing classes that serve students who arrive at the university without the preparation or skills they will need to succeed. This teaching role links him to broad efforts from across the campus, particularly the library and the College Learning Center. In this respect, he works with colleagues in English as a Second Language, Library Science, Athletics, and Counseling. In addition, Bruce’s role as a faculty mentor to student athletes in the University’s “Community of Learners” program connects directly to his work identifying, placing, and instructing at-risk students. Bruce has also overseen and taught in UCLA’s Transfer Intensive Program built upon the notion that the crucial part of a successful transfer is the ability to write. For his work with nontraditional students seeking admission (or readmission) to the university through UC extension courses he received a UCLA Teaching Award.

While Bruce has spent most of his professional life as a writing teacher and administrator, his PhD is in English literature, and his first publications focused on nineteenth-century fiction. His book, Power and Punishment in Scott’s Novels, was nominated for a McVities Prize. Bruce was also guest editor of a special edition of European Romantic Review that was devoted to essays on Walter Scott. In addition, he is the coauthor of the widely used literature anthology The Literary Experience (coauthored with Jeff Wheeler and published by Wadsworth).

Bruce’s teaching interests along with his concern for undergraduate education have moved him outside this fairly narrow scholarly world. He has taught a wide range of literature and composition courses in the past twenty years—everything from courses on Faulkner to business writing workshops. He has been involved in administrative work (e.g., student placement, curriculum development). And he has consulted in the development of teaching materials for use in business settings.

Linda F. Tse

Linda F. Tse (MS, Minnesota State University, Mankato) has been an educator for over two decades, first as a high school English teacher in Hong Kong and currently at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC). Since 1997, Linda has been working as a counselor on college campuses, initially at four-year comprehensive universities before finding her passion working with the student body at MCTC, where 43 percent of the students are non-Caucasian and more than eighty different languages are spoken on campus. New immigrants for whom English is a second language, first-generation college students, nontraditional students, single parents, and students living below the poverty line make up the majority of the college’s student population.

Born to refugee parents in Hong Kong, Linda came to the United States on a student visa with the help of a scholarship. Her personal struggle together with her professional training have enabled her to relate readily to underrepresented and underserved students who aspire to higher education in the face of adversity and disadvantage. In this regard, she provides academic, career, and personal counseling, while teaching classes in Career Development and Life Planning, and College Success Strategies. In addition to her academic responsibilities, Linda works professionally with dislocated workers and people with disabilities.

Tom Lochhaas

Tom Lochhaas is a teacher, a writer, an editor, and a consultant. He received his MFA in writing from the University of Arizona and is ABD in English at Washington University. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Tom has taught at the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, Otterbein College, Washington University, Saint Louis Community College, and UCLA. His teaching focus has been on freshman courses with an emphasis on reading, writing, and study and communication skills. Tom’s special interests are in working with unprepared students and recent immigrants.

As a college instructor, Tom has always focused on what students actually need—not necessarily what professors might think they need—to succeed in their studies, regardless of the particular topic. In an academic world where many students do not read their textbooks at all, or have difficulty understanding them when they do, it is critical to be realistic about how today’s students learn and how best to reach them. “A weighty traditional tome might look like the best classic student success textbook to some instructors,” Tom says, “but such a text fails if students can’t or won’t read it. Students quickly become frustrated by reading materials not useful to them as students or appropriate for their needs.” His expertise in how to shape an effective textbook is part of what he brings to this authorship team.

As a professional college textbook editor and writer, Tom specializes in making textbooks accessible for students in many curriculum areas, including communications, software and technical manuals, and public health information. In his work with public organizations such as the American Red Cross and the National Safety Council, he has brought an expertise in language and reading level to ensure that a wide range of publications are appropriate for their intended audiences. He has written or ghostwritten several dozen textbooks and other books.

Nicholas B. deKanter

Nick deKanter (MA, Tufts University) is an educational advocate, consultant, and marketing professional. As founder and president of the Vision 21 Education Group, he is working to support schools seeking to transform into twenty-first-century learning environments that help students master core subjects, connect subjects to real-world needs, think critically, communicate clearly, and practice collaboration and innovation.