51²è¹Ý

Dean, Honors & Scholars Programs
Director, University Honors Program
214-768-2813

Dr. David D. Doyle was raised in northern New Hampshire and graduated from Plymouth State College in New Hampshire with a degree in History. A Master's Degree in American History followed from New York University. Working with historians Martin Duberman, David Nasaw, and Randolph Trumbach, Dr. Doyle completed the Ph.D. in American History from the City University of New York. His fields of interest within American History are the study of gender and sexuality and he is currently at work on a book examining male sexuality in late nineteenth century New York and New England. He has published reviews and articles in Reviews in American History, The Journal of the History of Sexuality, and the American Historical Association Lesbian Gay History Newsletter
Dr. Doyle is the recipient of two of the highest awards at 51²è¹Ý: the Rotunda Outstanding Faculty award ('05-'06) and the "M" Award ('06-'07).

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Assistant Dean for University Honors Program and Fellowships
214-768-4543

Dr. Miller, Assistant Dean of the University Honors Program and Fellowships, grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and graduated from Appalachian State University with degrees in History and Journalism. He then completed a Ph.D. in Russian and East-Central European History at Michigan State University.  Dr. Miller currently is at work on a book exploring gender, material culture, and everyday life in the final Soviet decades.

Since arriving at 51²è¹Ý in 2013, he has taught a variety of European history courses including “Surviving Fascism & Communism in East-Central Europe,” “WWII in Europe,” and the second half of the Western Civilization survey.

When away from campus, he enjoys keeping up with contemporary Russian literature and spending time in Far West Texas.

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Honors WRTR Lecturer
Assistant Director, University Honors Program
214-768-4056

Dr. Joan Arbery was born in Dallas, but grew up in Nashua, NH, for most of her childhood. After college at the University of Dallas, she spent her graduate years at the University of Notre Dame, with a year in Dublin on a graduate fellowship. After a brief stint in free-lance journalism here in town, she started teaching at 51²è¹Ý in 2009, and has taught in Honors since 2016. During that time, she has also worked with the University of Dallas and the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture (now part of 51²è¹Ý). In addition to serving as the historian for 51²è¹Ý's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, she looks forward to joining Faculty Senate this year. She loves teaching the Honors curriculum and Honors students, engaging with their intellectual curiosity and imagination. Meanwhile, she's the mother of an 11-year-old son, Jude Stefano – they love traveling, exploring Dallas, hanging out with their dog Piper, and watching old crime shows like Monk.

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Assistant Director, University Honors Program
214-768-2189

Dorie grew up in Fort Worth and drove South on I-35 to earn both her B.A. in History and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and Policy from UT Austin. After graduation, she remained at UT as an Academic Advisor in the McCombs School of Business before driving back North on I-35 to continue her advising career in the 51²è¹Ý Lyle School of Engineering. She is now thrilled to join the UHP as its Assistant Director, where she will lead the planning and implementation of each semester's event calendar, support juniors and seniors in completing their honors requirements, and advise the UHP Student Advisory Council. Dorie is also pursuing her doctorate in the 51²è¹Ý Ed.D. in Higher Education program.

Outside 51²è¹Ý, Dorie enjoys browsing the historical fiction section, cheering on both real and fantasy sports teams that continuously let her down, and is on a quest to visit every county in Texas with her husband (only 147 to go!).

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Honors WRTR Lecturer
214-768-7086

Dr. Jerry Barr is thrilled to join 51²è¹Ý's Honors Program. He has taught university writing and literature courses since 2017. His interests include India's influence on 19th-century Romantic poets. He has written peer-reviewed essays on the 18th-Century orientalist Sir William Jones. He received a grant to conduct research on Rabindranath Tagore at his university, Viswa Bharati, in Bengal, India. Jerry also led a colloquium of international graduate students for Harvard University's Institute for World Literature. He also has a deep interest in magic realism and considers Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude one of the world's greatest novels. Jerry has studied Indian Classical percussion for the past two decades and has performed internationally.

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Honors WRTR Lecturer
214-768-5058

Dr. Madhavi Biswas received her BA, MA, and MPhil in English from the University of Delhi. She received her PhD in Humanities from the University of Texas in Dallas. She has taught literature, film, critical thinking, and writing courses at the University of Texas at Dallas, Collin College, and the University of Delhi. Her current areas of interest are world literature, transnational cinema, anime, and adaptation studies. Her articles on contemporary Indian Cinema have been published in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections. At present, she teaches critical thinking and writing at 51²è¹Ý.

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Honors WRTR Lecturer
214-768-2835

Dr. Russ McConnell received his BA in English at the University of Calgary, then his MA and PhD at the University of Western Ontario.  He has taught at the University of Western Ontario and at the University of Alabama.  He now teaches in the UHP program at 51²è¹Ý.

Areas of Interest: Shakespeare; Renaissance Literature; British Literature; Comic Books and Graphic Novels; Poetry

Honors Academic Advisor
214-768-2305

Dr. Susan Harris joined the University Advising Center in August of 2013.  She has been teaching as an Adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology since 2003.  Prior to coming to Dallas, she was an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University, a visiting Professor at Trinity University in San Antonio and a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.  Susan earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Kansas (and remains a faithful Jayhawk to this day!) and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.

During her time at 51²è¹Ý, Dr. Harris has been honored with the Extra Mile Award for excellence in teaching students with learning disabilities, as a HOPE honoree for professors who have made a significant impact to student academic education both inside and outside of the classroom and has received awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching in the Department of Psychology.

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Senior Program Specialist, Scholars Den
214-768-2508

Alexandra (Alex) Thibeaux returned to the Hilltop in August 2017. She was an undergraduate student at 51²è¹Ý from 2009-2013 and was an active member of the University Honors Program as well as a student athlete on the rowing team. Her closest friends in college were fellow students in the Honors program and residents of the 51²è¹Ý Service House. After graduating from 51²è¹Ý, Alex taught elementary school in Dallas for 4 years and earned her M.Ed in Special Education from the University of North Texas in 2017. She is currently a candidate for a Master's of Science in Data Science at 51²è¹Ý. As Senior Program Specialist, she manages many of the every-day processes of the Hilltop Scholars Program, Mustang Scholars Program, President's Scholars Program, University Honors Program, as well as the Hyer Society.

When not working or studying, Alex enjoys playing rugby for the Dallas Harlequins Women's Rugby Team, spending time with her family and friends, listening to music, and telling her German Shepherd, Gatsby, what a good boy he is.

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