Dr. Demetrice A. Worley, associate professor, joined the Department of English in fall 1988. She holds a D.A. in English from Illinois State University. Her special fields are composition theory and pedagogy, African American literature, and creative writing.

Teaching. At the undergraduate level, Dr. Worley teaches composition, exposition, technical writing, creative writing, introduction to African American literature, 19th century African American writers, the Harlem Renaissance, 20th century African American women playwrights, contemporary black women writers, and "Reading" Black Art: African American Verbal/Visual Texts in Black and White/Color. At the graduate level, she has taught the theory and practice of English, workshop for writers (creative writing), writing theory, and theories and methods of teaching composition.

Dr. Worley has been honored for her teaching at the University level, New (Untenured) Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching (1994) and at the Department level, Outstanding English Faculty Member Award (1993), Sigma Tau Delta (English Honorary Society).

Scholarship/Creative Production. As a teacher/scholar, Dr. Worley links her teaching interests to her scholarly/creative production. She is co-editor of Language and Image in Reading-Writing Classroom: Teaching Vision (LEA, 2002); African-American Literature: An Anthology, 2nd edition (McGraw-Hill, 1997); and Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle . . . And Other Modern Verse (ScottForesman, 1995). In addition, she has published articles and presented numerous conference papers.

Dr. Worley's poetry has appeared in literary journals such as Permafrost, The Spoon River Poetry Review (where she was a finalist for the 2002 Editor's Prize), Clackamas Literary Review, and Rambunctious Review. Also, her poetry appears in several anthologies including Spirit & Flame: Contemporary African American Poets (Syracuse University Press, 1997). In May 2003, Dr. Worley was named a Cave Canem Poetry Fellow. Currently, Dr. Worley is working on a poetry manuscript and on a series of essays on August Wilson's dramas.

Service. Dr. Worley is an active member of a number of professional organizations including the National Council of Teachers of English, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the Modern Language Association.

As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (a public service organization), Dr. Worley can be found in the Peoria community working on numerous projects, such as mentoring primary and secondary students, Voter Registration/Education, and Breast Cancer Awareness.