Dr. Chapman joined the UAB faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2000. Prior to coming to UAB, she held teaching appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, Western Carolina University, and Tulane University. At UAB, she rose through the ranks and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006 and Professor in 2014.
Dr. Chapman received her B.A. in English (magna cum laude) from Davidson College in 1989. She went on to complete her M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1997) from the University of Pennsylvania with an emphasis on English Renaissance literature.Dr. Chapman is the author of Patrons and Patron Saints in Early Modern English Literature (Routledge Press, 2012), as well as articles in major journals like Renaissance Quarterly, Shakespeare Quarterly, and Modern Philology. In recent years, her research has focused on the poetry of John Milton, and she has written extensively on Milton and the history of law. For many years at UAB, Dr. Chapman coordinated the faculty lecture series at Donaldson Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in western Jefferson County, and taught volunteer literature classes there, and she has written two non-fiction pieces inspired by those experiences.
Her service record is exemplary and extensive; she chaired the University's Writing Task Force from 2007 through 2012 and also served on the Outcomes Assessment and Core Curriculum Steering Committees, as well as many other committees within the college. Within the Department of English, she served as Undergraduate Studies Director from 2008 through 2014.
Dr. Chapman is also highly regarded as a teacher and mentor. She won the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2010, the UAB Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award in 2014, and the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award from the National Association of Academic Advisors in 2014.
"Dr. Chapman has deep institutional knowledge and strong faculty and student relationships that make her an excellent choice as Chair," says Dean Palazzo. "She has been a leading force in the department for many years, and I am looking forward to working more closely with her in her new role."
Dr. Chapman writes, "I'm a native of Birmingham, and it has been a pleasure to work with students, faculty, and community members in the same city where I grew up. I look forward as Chair to further strengthening the ties between UAB and our wonderful local community."
