Danny comes to Emmanuel College from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he recently completed his Ph.D. in English. His dissertation explores representations of university spaces in Jewish American fiction, and he has a great interest in liberal arts education and its role in identity formation. As a teacher, Danny is particularly invested in helping students more richly experience life through the experience of reading literature and watching films. He is, therefore, excited to join Emmanuel’s English department. The college’s mission to integrate faith and learning closely resembles Danny's own values in terms of higher education, which he see as a process of developing the whole person, intellectually, physically, and spiritually.
Danny says he is blessed to be a part of Emmanuel College at this exciting time in its history. The college’s vision for itself and its students is inspiring and he is anxious to take part in that vision.
Danny lives in Royston with his wife, Kim, and their two daughters. They are all enjoying the experience of getting to know Northeast Georgia, and he looks forward to growing into his role in the Emmanuel community in the years to come!
Click here to email Daniel Anderson.
Karen Compton, instructor, earned her B.A. in English and mass communication and her M.A. in English at Winthrop University. She started her college teaching career at Emmanuel College in the fall of 2000. She teaches freshman composition, introduction to literature, and American literature and directs the Academic Resource Center. Her interests include composition, American literature, African American literature, and tutor training. Her master’s thesis was entitled “Examination of the Microcosm in Katherine Anne Porter’s Ship of Fools, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and Stephen Crane’s ‘The Open Boat.’” Mrs. Compton and her husband, Steve, live in Anderson, S.C., and have two children, Patricia Ann and Ben.
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Kyle Garrett, assistant professor, holds a B.A. in English (2007) and an M.F.A. in creative writing and English (2010) from the University of Georgia. He joined the English department in 2010. His academic interests include modern American literature, Southern literature, and exposing the laws that govern every true work of art. His personal interests include constructing edible works of art, writing poems and stories, Braves baseball, and pursuing Christ. He lives in Athens with his wife, Stephanie, and their ferocious cat, Zambizee.
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Stephanie Garrett, instructor, completed her B.A. in theater at Brenau University (2006) and M.A. in English at the University of Georgia (2010). She began teaching at Emmanuel in 2010. She worked with many theater companies as performer, playwright, technician and teacher, including Florida Studio Theater (Sarasota), the Gainesville Theater Alliance, and the Atlanta branch of Christian Youth Theater. Her interests include theater, the long nineteenth-century (especially Jane Austen), British Romanticism, Japanese and Korean literature and culture. She enjoys the integration of theater with the study of literature and the integration of Christian faith and the arts. She teaches for the children’s ministry at New Community (Hoschton, Ga.), where she is a member. She is originally from Gainesville, Ga., and lives in Athens with her husband.
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Nathan Gilmour double-majored in English and philosophy as an undergraduate, completed Master of Arts degrees in Old Testament and English, and completed his Ph.D in 2012 with a dissertation on literature and theology. Somebody just recently told him that most people study one thing at a time. He joined the faculty at Emmanuel College in 2009 and has taught European literature from Homer to the twentieth century, advanced composition, introduction to literature, freshman composition, and senior seminar. He will also teach Old English language and literary theory in coming semesters and co-teach the literary publishing course. Nathan serves Emmanuel College as director of Composition Culture, a program seeking to incorporate writing and rhetoric in all of the disciplines. Nathan and his wife Mary live near Athens with their young children, and all attend Athens Christian Church, where Nathan variously teaches, preaches, and serves in whatever ways folks find helpful. Nathan is a longsuffering Chicago Cubs fan, one of the hosts of the award-winning Christian Humanist Podcast (available for free on iTunes!), and the author of Theological Dramatics: Two Christological Case Studies.
Click here to email Nathan Gilmour.
Barbara Goodwin, Associate Professor of English, served as chair of the department from 2002-2012. She was coordinator of the English Education program from its inception in 2001 through 2012. She holds an M.A. in English Education degree from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri. She has taught at Emmanuel since 1996, having previously taught at Southeastern College in Lakeland, FL, and Evangel College, Springfield, MO. She worked in the Sun–Coast Area Teacher Training Program (SCATT) at the University of South Florida where she wrote materials for the program. Her other professional experiences include teaching English at Lakeland Highlands Junior High School, serving as Director of Information Services at Evangel College in Springfield, MO, and working as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian and the West Plains Daily Quill. She was the recipient of the Master Teacher Award from the State of Florida 1984-1987 and was honored by Emmanuel College in 2002 with the Brady Faculty Award and again in 2007 with the Firebaugh Memorial Faculty Award. She is sponsor of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. Her specialties include composition as well as adolescent and American literature. She and her husband Mark, a professor of music at Emmanuel, live near Franklin Springs and have two sons: Scott, who lives in Lexington, GA, and Tim, who, with his wife Kelly, lives in Lawrenceville, GA. They dote on their granddaughter Olivia.
Click here to email Barbara Goodwin.
Adjunct Faculty
Cathy Acree, Adjunct, also serves as the Assistant Registrar of Emmanuel College. Before working at Emmanuel, she was a student at Emmanuel College where she received her A.S. in Business Administration (’04) and her B.A. in English (’06) and was Valedictorian of both classes. In 2010, she received her certification to teach English 6-12 through North Georgia College and State University. She is currently pursuing a M.A. in English Education at Piedmont College. In addition, Cathy has a photography business, Catchlight Photography, that she started in 2009. Cathy resides in Royston with her husband Andrew, 2 huskies, Luna and Mojo, and grey cat, Indy.
Click here to email Cathy Acree.
Cortney Johnston, instructor, earned her B.A. in English from the University of Alabama and her M.S. in Secondary English Education from Jacksonville State University. Cortney taught 10th grade and senior english at The Kingʼs Academy, a Christian school and one of the top private schools Palm Beach, for the past five years. She worked as the Critical Thinking coordinator for the English department as well as helped map and develop the writing curriculum for the newly revised English department. Cortney enjoys reading British and American literature, historical fiction, and mythology. She enjoys spending time cooking, playing, and laughing with her one-year-old baby girl Lydia, her husband Patrick, and their two dogs Rusty and Sophy.
Patrick Johnston, instructor, earned his B.S. in English Education from the University of Alabama and his M.A. in English from the School of Letters program at Sewanee: The University of the South. He joined the Emmanuel College athletic staff as the Director of Lacrosse and Menʼs Lacrosse Head Coach in February 2012. Prior to Emmanuel, Johnston served as the English Department Chair at Cardinal Newman High School and an English instructor at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida. His interests include Shakespeare, creative non-fiction, and the art of composition. When Patrick is not on the lacrosse field and in the classroom, he enjoys spending time with his wife Cortney, his daughter Lydia, and their dogs. The Johnstons are looking forward to another great fall of Crimson Tide football.