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Kiera Ball

Instructor of English and Reading

Technology Center 265

kiera.ball@northern.edu

Kiera Ball is an Instructor of English, having joined Northern’s faculty in 2023. She holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of South Dakota and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sioux Falls in English and theology/philosophy.

Her research interests focus on regional literature and gender and theology in 19th- and 20th-century American and British literature.
 

Lysbeth Em Benkert

Department Chair/Professor of English

Technology Center 373

lysbeth.benkert@northern.edu

Dr. Benkert has a particular interest in the Renaissance and the reformations that swept through England and Europe during the early modern period (1459-1700). She has taught several courses related to this time in history, including classes on Shakespeare, Early Modern Women Writers, as well as a seminar in Divine and Meditative Literature.

In addition, she has also published two chapbooks of original poetry: #Girl Stuff (2018) and Please thank you but why (2023). These works directly inform her classes in Composition, Introduction to Creative Writing, and Creative Writing—Poetry.

Kristen Brown

Assistant Professor of English

Technology Center 255

kristen.brown@northern.edu

Ph.D. in English and American Literature, University of South Carolina, 2020

M.A. in English, Gannon University, 2009

B.S. in English/Secondary Education Track, Towson University, 2001

 

CV

 

After teaching in the eastern and southwestern U.S., Dr. Kristen Brown joined Northern's faculty in 2022. While earning her Ph.D. in English and American Literature at The University of South Carolina, she taught composition, literature, and ethics courses while designing her own minor in Indigenous studies with emphasis on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her research was funded in part by the national Bilinski Dissertation Fellowship.

Dr. Brown's teaching and research often focus on Indigenous perspectives and environmental themes. In addition to scholarship published in Western American Literature and Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, she recently published a chapter offering pedagogical approaches to the works of Dakota author-activist Charles Eastman/Ohiyesa. She is currently co-editing and contributing to a collection titled Land Management in North American Literature and Culture: From Resource to Reciprocity, which is forthcoming from Routledge’s Environmental Humanities Series (2026).

Courses Taught

ENGL 101 Composition I
ENGL 201 Composition II
ENGL 210 Introduction to Literature
ENGL 213 Backgrounds to Literature: Native American Literatures
ENGL 215 Literature in Global Contexts
ENGL 242 American Literature II
ENGL 258 Literature and Culture
ENGL 363 Sci-Fi and Worldbuilding
ENGL 490/590 Seminar

Research Interests Indigenous studies, the long nineteenth century, sensory/sound studies, environmental ethics, settler colonialism, queer ecologies

Justin Foote

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies/Director of Forensics

Technology Center 248

justin.foote@northern.edu

Juan Gonzalez

Associate Professor of Spanish

Technology Center 249

juan.gonzalez@northern.edu

Elizabeth K. Haller

Interim Dean, Professor of English

elizabeth.haller@northern.edu

B.A.  University of Northern Colorado

M.A.  Central Michigan University

Ph.D.  Kent State University

Resume/CV

 

Courses Taught

• ENGL 222: British Literature from 1800
• ENGL 284: Introduction to Criticism
• ENGL 285: Professional Development in the Major
• ENGL 490: Seminar - Victorian Literature

Dr. Elizabeth Haller is the Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and an English professor. She joined Northern's faculty in August 2009. Dr. Haller served as Department Chair of English, Communications, and Global Languages from 2017-2020 and as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 2020 to 2026. In her role as Associate Dean, she worked closely with faculty to support innovative academic programming and meaningful student learning experiences.

Her research engages trauma theory and psychoanalytic criticism in studying 19th century British literature within its historical context. Further research interests include the British Industrial Revolution and women of the late 19th and early 20th century labor reform movement.

Dr. Haller's forthcoming book, A Literary Companion to the Brontës (McFarland Press), offers a rich exploration of the Brontë sisters’ lives, their literary works, and their lasting cultural impact.

 

Sarah Meirose

English, Reading and Communication Studies Instructor

Huron Campus

sarah.meirose@northern.edu

Sarah Meirose started at Northern in 2023, and she teaches English, Reading, and Communication classes at the Huron Community Campus. She completed her BA in English from James Madison University in 2016, and her MA in English from the University of South Dakota in 2019. Sarah specializes in fantasy literature, narrative theory, video game studies, and creative nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Literature Today (2018, 2019, 2023, 2025), as well as Intraspection: A Journal of Rhetoric, Culture, and Style (2022) and Vanguard: Exercises for the Creative Writing Classroom (2020).

Jessica Ness

Academic Advisor

Jewett Science Center 117

jessica.ness@northern.edu

I am academic advisor for science, math, global languages, English, and communication studies. With degrees in business management and English literature and creative writing from Northern, I have been on campus intermittently since 2002.

I grew up in the Aberdeen area and worked for the South Dakota Board of Regents for 10 years. As a lifelong learner, I have always been a great supporter of education from childhood to adulthood. My goal in advising is to help students plan their path to graduation and help them look outside their major to become well-rounded applicants for future opportunities. I hope students will be able to look to me for guidance and reassurance in reaching their goals. Whether it is a smile and an encouraging word, or a referral to a resource, I want my advisees to know I am here for them.

In my spare time, I can usually be found reading a book, writing, baking, or spending time with my nieces, nephews, and dog.

 

Pen Pearson

Professor of English

Technology Center 259

pen.pearson@northern.edu

Resume/CV

Professor Pen Pearson teaches introduction to creative writing, poetry writing, fiction writing, and creative nonfiction writing, as well as early American literature, literary criticism, and composition. Pen also advises Honors students with creative theses. She currently serves on the campus-wide assessment committee and the three-year tenure-review committee for the College of Arts and Sciences.

Pen’s publications include One Wing Should Float (2023), winner of the South Dakota State Poetry Society’s chapbook contest, Bloomsbury’s Late Rose (2019), a historical novel about Edwardian poet Charlotte Mew, Poetry as Liturgy (2010), and Trespass to Chattel (2009). Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction have also appeared in various anthologies and journals.