Jim Webber

Jim Webber is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), within the College of Liberal Arts. He holds a Ph.D. in Composition Studies from the University of New Hampshire (2012), an M.A. in English (2005), and a B.A. in English and Spanish from Augsburg College (1999). His research focuses on the public context of composition studies, rhetoric of public policy, and the intersections of education reform with political economy. He is the author of An Alternate Pragmatism for Going Public (2017), examining K-16 education reforms, and is currently writing a second book analyzing venture philanthropists like Bill Gates and Betsy DeVos in K-12 education advocacy.

Webber emphasizes community and public engagement in teaching, designing courses such as Advanced Nonfiction Writing and Rhetoric of Hip Hop, and supporting the Core Writing program. His courses often explore strategic planning, nonprofit writing, and the rhetoric of innovation in professional contexts.

His publications address topics like machine scoring in education, feminist critiques in composition scholarship, and rhetorical approaches to political discourse. He has taught extensively at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including seminars on community engagement in rhetoric and composition theory.