English Faculty

Suzanne Linder teaches Utopia / Dystopia in Literature, 20th Century Novel and Social Advocacy. She earned her B.A. in English Education at Calvin College and her M.A. in Speech Communications at the University of Illinois. In her spare time, she volunteers with Urbana Champaign Books to Prisoners (www.books2prisoners.org).Her website is: http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~slinder

Elizabeth Majerus is the Executive Teacher in the department of English and teaches Sophomore English and Creative Writing. She earned her B.A. in English and Integrated Liberal Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Adele Mazurek-Suslick teaches Freshman English. She earned her B.A. at UCLA and her M.A. at Stanford University. website: http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~asuslick

Matt Mitchell teaches Sophomore English. He got a B.A. at Rutgers University and a M.A. at the University of Illinois.

David Porreca David Porreca is in his 14th year as Gargoyle adviser and journalism teacher. He joined the Uni High faculty in August 1995. He is a former president of the Illinois Journalism Education Association. Three of Porreca's students (Joe Ciolli, Noah Isserman, Kathleen Reutter) have won the Illinois High School Journalist of the Year Award. In 2003, Isserman was selected as one of five finalists for National High School Journalist of the Year. Three of his other students (Hillary Proctor, Mark Yates-White, and Michael Belmont) have been named to the IJEA All-State Team.

In 2006, Porreca successfully nominated Uni's then director/principal, Kathleen Patton, as IJEA Administrator of the Year for her defense of the Gargoyle's freedom of the press. In the summer of 2007, Porreca began a three-year term as an appointed member of the Illinois High School Association's journalism advisory committee.

The Gargoyle has been online since February 2006. The OG won an Online Pacemaker award for overall excellence in 2007 from the National Scholastic Press Association, and it was a Pacemaker finalist in 2008. The print version of the Gargoyle won Pacemaker awards in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001, and it was a finalist in 1999. In 2003, the print Gargoyle won first place as best newspaper in the country in Time magazine's scholastic journalism competition.

In addition to teaching journalism and advising the OG, Porreca is editor of both the school's quarterly newsletter for parents, U'n'I, and the biannual alumni magazine, AlumUni.

Steve Rayburn is a Teaching Associate in English. He holds a B.A. in English from Lambuth University, a M.A. in English and American Literature from Ohio University, and completed doctoral course work at The University of Mississippi. Currently he teaches Subfreshman English and one Junior/Senior English Seminar. He is also the sponsor of the Kung Fu Club at Uni and is involved with the GSA and theater. Course information may be found at www.uni.uiuc.edu/~srayburn.