Biography
Having grown up as the daughter of a librarian, Dr. Simpson fell in love with reading and literary language at an early age. She graduated from Liberty University in 1995 with an undergraduate degree in English and a desire to participate in foreign missions in some way. She graduated from Liberty again in 1997 with a Master of Arts in Religion and Missions. She worked for World Help, a missions organization in nearby Forest, VA, from 1997 to 2000 while also teaching English for Liberty’s Online Program.
In August of 2000, she became the administrative assistant to the Executive Director of Liberty University Online. Dr. Simpson then began teaching residential English 100 courses as adjunct faculty in August of 2001 and became full-time faculty in August of 2002. She graduated from Longwood University in 2004 with a Master of Arts in English Literature and earned her Ph.D. in Composition and TESL from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2017. In addition to teaching English writing courses online and on campus, she directs Liberty’s Online Writing Center and is an Assessment Coordinator for the Department of English.
Research Interests
- Writing Center theory
- Online tutoring
- Second language writers
- Teaching Writing
- Doctoral student writing
Selected Liberty, Conference, & Guest Speaker Presentations
- “Prove all things”: Parsing Plagiarism in Student Writing” (Jan. 2023)
- “Liberty’s Online Writing Center” (Oct. 2020)
- “Diversity in Literature: African American Lit” (Feb. 2019)
- “The Online Work of Writing Centers: Using the CCCC OWI Principles as a Framework for Effective Online WC Work” (March 2018)
- “Cultivating the Capacity of Online Writing Support: Online Student Perceptions of Online Writing Center Designs” (March 2017)
- “Everyone Needs Us”: Progress toward Inclusivity in the Center for Writing and Languages” (Feb. 2015)
- “Evolving Methods and Delivery: Analyzing Diverse Online Tutoring Options and Expectations” (Oct. 2015)
- “Academic Writing Enhancement” (Aug. 2015)
- “Racial Sensitivity & Student Language” (Aug. 2015)
- “Trickster Moments in Asynchronous Online Tutoring” (Oct. 2014)
- “Grading Multilingual Writers’ Work” (Aug. 2014)
- “Using SafeAssign Effectively” (Aug. 2014)
- “Grading Multilingual Writers’ Assignments” (Aug. 2014)
- “Writing Assistance Options for Liberty Online Students” (Aug. 2013)
- “Getting to Know the Center for Writing and Languages” (Aug. 2012, 2013, 2014)
- “Knowing Your Audience: A Strategy for Shifting Sands” (Oct. 2012)
- “Using YouTube in the Composition Classroom” (May 2011)
- “Our We There Yet? Why and How to Improve Your Writing Skills” (Fall 2010)
- “Working with the Struggling Graduate Student” (Fall 2010)
- “The Online Writing Center Services” presented and recorded (Oct. 2009)
- “Responding to Plagiarism” presented and recorded (Nov. 2009)
- “The First Day of Class: Setting the Tone” (Fall 2007-Fall 2008)
- “Teaching the Basic Writer” (Spring 2008)
- “Preparing Your Students for College-Level Writing” (Fall 2005)
Publications
- “Doctoral Writers’ Resiliency in the COVID-19 Pandemic” (2022)
- “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Doctoral Students’ Thesis/Dissertation Progress” (2021)
- “Seeking Balance within Personal Writing Ecologies: A Collaborative Autoethnography of a Doctoral Student Writing Group” (2019)
Institutional Service
- CASAS Assessment Coordinator (Fall 2019-Spring Present)
- QEP Steering Committee Member/Subcommittee Chair (Fall 2013-Spring 2014)
- Creator/Director of Online Writing Center (Fall 2007-Present)
- GRST 500 Online Adjunct Supervisor (Fall 2008-Spring 2019)
- English Assessment Coordinator & Chair of Assessment Committee (Fall 2009-Spring 2019)
- Member, Senate Athletic Committee (Fall 2006-Spring 2009, Fall 2013-Present)
- Recorded Lessons & Interviews for online English 101, 216, 607, & 637 (2011-2012)
- Genesis: Student-Athlete Mentorship program (Fall 2008-Spring 2009)
- English 100 Consultant, Freshman Writing Committee (Fall 2009)
- Assistant to the Chair of the English Department (2006-2007)
- Chair, Freshman Writing Committee (2005-2006)
- Adjunct Faculty Mentor for English 100 (2003-2009)
- Course Manager, Online English 100 (2002-2008)
- Developer, Online Course ENGL 100 (2006-2008)
- Member, SACSCOC Committee (2004)
- Speaker, Sigma Tau Delta Induction Ceremony (2003, 2005)
Community/Christian Service
- Volunteer Consultant, Advancing Native Missions (2007-Present)
- Member, Calvary Chapel, Lynchburg (Summer 2003-Present)
- Volunteer, Medical Care Center, Lynchburg (Fall 2004)
- Assist. Dir., Lynchburg City Schools Summer Theatre Enrichment Program (2003, 2004)
- Speaker, Timberlake Christian School Faculty Orientation (Aug. 2005)
- Stage Manager, Thomas Road Baptist Church Living Christmas Tree (Dec. 2000, 2001)