JESSICA NASTAL-DEMA

CURRICULUM VITAE
Department of English
Prairie State College
202 South Halsted Street
Chicago Heights IL 60411
jnd@prairiestate.edu
(708) 709-3687
EDUCATION
2014 Ph.D. English: Rhetoric & Composition University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2007 M.A. English, with distinction Saint Louis University
2007 M.A. English Literary & Cultural Studies Universidad Autnoma de Madrid
2002 B.A. English, magna cum laude Loyola University Chicago

APPOINTMENTS
2015-present Assistant Professor Prairie State College
Department of English
2014-15 Assistant Professor Georgia Southern University
Department of Writing and Linguistics
2010-13 Lecturer University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
English as a Second Language Program
2009-13 Teaching Assistant, instructor of record University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Department of English
2006-07 Teaching Assistant, instructor of record Saint Louis University, Madrid
Department of English

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Writing pedagogy; writing assessment; writing placement; outcomes assessment; writing
program administration; faculty development; fairness.

PUBLICATIONS
Isaacs, E., Nastal-Dema, J., Rachamalla, R. R., Elliot, N., Moxley, J. (in progress).
Contemporary peer review in STEM.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2018). Beyond tradition: Fairness, placement, and success at a two-year
college. Journal of Writing Assessment [special issue on placement in two-year colleges].
Toth, C., Nastal-Dema, J., Hassel, H., & Giordano, J.B. (2018). Writing assessment, placement,
and the two-year college. Journal of Writing Assessment [special issue on placement in
two-year colleges].
McGaughey, B. J., Rentz, A., & Nastal-Dema, J. (2015). The evolving identity of an
undergraduate major in writing and linguistics. Composition Studies, 43(2), 190-192.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2015). Twelve readers reading. Review of First-Year Composition: From
Theory to Practice. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 38(2), 199-204.
Nastal, J. (2013). Review of: D.21 Race and writing assessment: Cross-disciplinary
frameworks for impact analysis. Kairos, 18(13). Retrieved from
http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/praxis/tiki-index.php?page=CCCC_2013
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PUBLICATIONS, cont.
Nastal, J. (2012, 2013, 2016). Review of: Writing Assessment in the 21st Century: Essays in
Honor of Edward M. White. Journal of Writing Assessment Reading List. Retrieved
from http://jwareadinglist.blogspot.com/
Nastal, J. (2008). The Tyrone family as allegory for pre-World War II United States of America:
illusions of an isolationist nation. eOneill.com. Retrieved from
http://www.eoneill.com/library/laconics/5/5b.htm

COURSES TAUGHT
Writing Studies
Composition I; Composition II; Introduction to Writing Studies; Teaching Writing; Writing for
Publication; Fundamentals of College Reading and Writing; Introduction to English Studies.

English as a Second Language

Composition I; Composition II; Reading; Advanced Listening; Grammar; Writing; Immersion.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (selected)

Nastal-Dema, J. (2017, November). Beyond tradition: Fairness, placement, and success at a
two-year college. Paper presented at the Illinois Council of Community College
Administrators Conference, Springfield, IL.
Ciesla, C., Nastal-Dema, J., Evans, J. (2017, November). Changing the conversation: The
creation of a campus assessment council. Paper presented at the Illinois Council of
Community College Administrators Conference, Springfield, IL.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2017, March). Cultivating ethics of fairness, hospitality, and care in
composition. Paper presented at the Conference on College Composition and
Communication, Portland, OR.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2016, July). Lets go looking for trouble! Or, how to use writing assessment to
reveal invisible practices and improve teaching and learning. Paper presented at the
Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Raleigh, NC.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2015, March). The high-stakes writing classroom: Expectations, risks, and
assessments. Paper presented at the Conference on College Composition and
Communication, Tampa, FL.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2014, October). A dialogic perspective of placement. Paper presented at the
Thomas R. Watson Conference, Louisville, KY.
Nastal-Dema, J. (2014, July). In search of assessments that work. Paper presented at the
Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Normal, IL.
Nastal, J. (2013, July). Traveling on the feedback loop: Using writing program assessment to
strengthen undergraduate writing experiences. Paper presented at the Council of Writing
Program Administrators Conference, Savannah, GA.
Nastal, J. (2013, July). Graduate student perspectives on early WPA work. Paper presented at
the Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Savannah, GA.
Nastal, J. (2012, March). Bridging the gap between placement, instruction, and our values.
Paper presented at the North Carolina Symposium on Teaching Writing, Raleigh, NC.
Nastal, J. (2012, March). Composition as a site of resistance to cultural assimilation. Paper
presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, St. Louis,
MO.
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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, cont.

Nastal, J. (2011, April). Constructions of disability in the composition classroom. Paper
presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Atlanta, GA.
Nastal, J. (2010, April). Allowing for inclusion: Addressing military students through
transformative hospitality. Paper presented at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
First-Year Writing Symposium, Milwaukee, WI.
Nastal, J. (2010, April). I read it on your wall: Facebooks influence on First-Year Writing
students conception of audience. Paper presented at the Popular Culture
Association/American Culture Association National Conference, St. Louis, MO.

HONORS AND AWARDS (selected)

2013-14 UWM Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship
2013 UWM Person Who Has Helped You the Most for adult and transfer students
2013 Council of Writing Program Administrators Travel Grant
2012 UWM English Department Teaching Excellence Award
2009, 2012 Chancellors Graduate Student Award
2002 Phi Beta Kappa

INVITED PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

2017 Antiracist faculty development, South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium
2016 Addressing bias in assessment, Prairie State College
2015 Introduction to writing assessment, Indiana University Pennsylvania
2013 Forum on access, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2013 Workshop on writing pedagogy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2012 Workshop on conventions, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2011 Training on ESL writing pedagogy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2011 Workshop on grammar instruction, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2010 Workshop on in-class discussions, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

SERVICE
To the profession
2017-present Editor, Journal of Writing Assessment Reading List
2017-present Reviewer, WPA: Writing Program Administration
2016-present Editorial board member, Composition Studies
2014-16 Reviewer, Composition Studies
2014-2016 Reviewer, The Writing Campus
2013-present Associate Editor, Journal of Writing Assessment
2012-14 Elected committee member, WPA-Graduate Organization
2011-13 Assistant Editor, Journal of Writing Assessment

To the institution
Prairie State College
2017 Strategic Planning team member
2017 Co-curricular assessment taskforce member
2017-present Assessment Council co-chair (elected)
2017-present Academic Affairs Strategic Planning chair
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SERVICE, cont.
2016-present Higher Learning Commission (HLC) re-accreditation team member
2016-present Assessment Council member
2016-present Assessment Council steering committee member

Georgia Southern University

2015 Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Implementation Team member
2014-15 Creative Writing search committee, Department of Writing and Linguistics
2014-15 Jordan Stroud, Honors Thesis, B.A. in Writing and Linguistics
2014-15 First-Year Writing Committee, Department of Writing and Linguistics
2014-15 Curriculum Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2013-14 Selection committee member, First-Year Common Read
2013-14 Pilot project on Assessment of Writing and Critical Thinking participant
2013 Intensive English Program Writing Course Coordinator
2012-13 Elected representative, English Department Graduate Policy Committee
2012-13 Coordinator of Basic Writing
2011-12 Co-chair, Intensive English Program Testing Alignment Committee
2011 First-Year Writing Curriculum Committee member
2010 Elected representative, Rhetoric and Composition Graduate Students

LANGUAGES
Intermediate level of Spanish
Proficient in HTML and C++

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
College Composition and Communication
Council of Writing Program Administrators
Two-Year College English Association