| Student Resources |
Ben Kiely is in his first year at Inver Hills. An accidental student of English, he began his academic career as a budding psychologist. The romance, though fiery at first, grew tepid after Ben was introduced to James Baldwin and Gayl Jones. In a fateful about-face, Ben fled to the waiting arms of literature. After receiving his M.A. in English from the University of Saint Thomas, Ben and his wife moved to Tokyo, Japan where they taught developmental writing to Japanese undergraduate students. Ben has spent a considerable amount of time living, working, teaching, and learning in such far-off places as China, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Japan, and Malaysia. Before coming to Inver Hills, Ben worked in writing centers at the University of Saint Thomas and Saint Mary’s University and taught developmental writing in the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs at SMU. In addition to working in the Writing Center, Ben teaches English courses.
Keith Richter is in his 11th year at Inver Hills and teaches English full time, although he continues to tutor in the Writing Center. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, near the banks of Salt Creek and within earshot of the public (inmate?) address system at the state penitentiary. He prefers tallgrass prairies to forests, and runzas are a part of his DNA. Forgotten president Franklin Pierce (the only incumbent president NOT re-nominated by his own party) and thespian Don Knotts (winner of five Emmy awards!!) are rarely-mentioned branches of Keith's family tree.
Before and after achieving a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Nebraska in 1992, Keith worked for the National Park Service's Midwest Archaeological Center. While there, he participated in archaeological surveys and excavations at such places as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Cuyahoga Valley National Scenic Riverway, the St. Croix River, James A. Garfield's residence, and Herbert Hoover's birthplace. After spending a few years carefully uncovering the rusty nails of dead presidents and pulling ticks off his body, Keith realized he was not cut out to be an archaeologist, so he married one and went back to school, receiving his M.A. in English from Kansas State University in 1996. Keith's office is in room 233 in the Learning Center (Library Building), and he can be reached at 651-450-8541.
Keith is Writing Center Coordinator along with Laurel Watt. He will train student tutors and oversee scheduling for the Writing Center. Please contact him if you have any questions or suggestions for the Writing Center (651-450-8541).
Keith also has a faculty web site you can access at http://faculty.inverhills.edu/krichte, and please visit the English Department's web site at http://depts.inverhills.edu/English.
Laurel Watt teaches Reading, Writing, Study Skills and English as a Second Language at Inver Hills. In the idealism of her youth, which wasn't actually all that long ago, she worked as a musician and singer, having earned a couple of degrees in music which in effect forestalled the necessity of earning money. After marrying another musician, she concluded that one really cannot eat art. Hence, she turned to the lucrative field of education after a part-time tutoring gig at Inver Hills in the early 1980's convinced her that helping students improve their reading and writing skills was the next best thing to opera. Before joining the Inver Hills faculty in 1991, she taught reading and writing courses at the General College on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota while completing a second master's degree in Adult Education. During her five-year stint at General College, she also assisted the Coordinator of the Reading and Writing Center, which is where one might say she "cut her teeth" on writing center work.