
Dorfeld, Natalie
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Natalie Dorfeld
Associate Professor | School of Arts and Communication
Contact Information
Personal Overview
Dr. Natalie M. Dorfeld was born and raised in Greenville, Pennsylvania, home of the parachute.
In her spare time, she enjoys getting lost in national parks, rescuing all types of animals, collecting two-dollar bills, watching documentaries, and venturesome sports (downhill skiing, marathons, open water swimming, and bodybuilding).
She resides in the Space Coast with her wonderful husband and four-legged children.
Educational Background
Ph.D., English: Composition & TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2007
M.A., English, Slippery Rock University, 2002
B.S., English: Writing, Slippery Rock University, 1998
B.A., Philosophy, Slippery Rock University, 1998
Professional Experience
Prior to joining Florida Tech in 2012, she taught at several schools in northwestern Pennsylvania, including Pennsylvania State University (Shenango), Thiel College, and Clarion University (Venango).
She is currently an associate professor of English in the School of Arts and Communication at Florida Institute of Technology and an adjunct professor for Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide in the summer.
Freshman English (COM 1101 and 1102) is her forte, but she often branches out to Scientific & Technical Communication, Speech, and Environmental Literature & Society, which is her all-time favorite.
Additionally, she works as a freelance writer for Salem Press and serves as an advisory board member for Wadsworth Publishing and Pearson Allyn & Bacon Publishing.
Current Courses
ASC 1000 / University Experience
COM 1000 / First Year Writing
COM 1101 / Composition & Rhetoric
COM 1102 / Writing About Literature
COM 2223 / Scientific & Technical Communication
COM 2224 / Business and Professional Writing
COM 2370 / Speech
COM 3210 and 5530 / Editing
HUM 1001 / Environmental Writing
HUM 3273 / Environmental Literature & Society
HUM 3285 / Environmental Literature
Selected Publications
Curriculum vitae available upon request.
Recognition & Awards
Strongest Female, Florida Tech's Bench Pressing Contest, 2023
iTeachER Certification, Rothwell Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, 2022
Tenure, School of Arts and Communication, 2020
Professor of the Year: College of Psychology and Liberal Arts, 2019-2020
Best in Section, 50th Annual College English Association Conference, 2019
Keynote, Contingent Faculty Caucus │ College English Association, 2018
Editorial Board, Forum: Issues about Part-Time and Contingent Faculty, 2017-2021
Travel Grant, Academic Information Technology Committee, 2015
East-West Center Asian Studies Development Program Grant, Summer Institute, 2015
Safe Zone Facilitator, Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, 2011-2012
New Directions Grant, TLC (The Learning Commons), 2010-2011
Longfellow Grant, CLA (Center for Learning & Advising), 2009-2010
Distinguished Alumni, SRU's Philosophy Department, 2007
Academic Scholarship, The Borders Group Foundation, 2003
Outstanding Graduate Student Award, SRU's English Department, 2002-2003
Research
The bulk of her research focuses on contingent labor issues. It examines the growing and detrimental reliance on adjunct professors in the humanities, first-year composition classes in particular.
Her latest edited collection can be found here.
Further interests include L2 pedagogies, writing studies, multiple intelligences in the classroom, vegetarianism in the media, and the mental health effects of COVID-19 on college campuses.
She also dabbles in poetry, which is often dark and sarcastic, much like her soul.
Additional Duties
Volunteer, Writers’ Den
Creative Writing Institute
Advanced Placement Reader, ETS
FITAST Committee (Asian Studies)
Academic Information Technology Committee (AITC)
Thesis, Dissertation, and DRP Committees (Outside Reader)
Advisor, Rainbow Alliance, Swing Dance Club, and Sigma Tau Gamma
COPLA Mentoring Program and COPLA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council