Robin Colby

Robin Colby is the Department Chair of English and a Professor of English at Meredith College, where she has been a full-time faculty member since her return after graduate studies. Her academic career is deeply tied to Meredith, where she began as an undergraduate and now leads the English department. She balances administrative duties with teaching and research, emphasizing student development and community engagement.

• Educational Background:
• PhD in English, Duke University
• MA in English, North Carolina State University
• BA in English/French, Meredith College

Her research interests span Victorian literature, European literature, and the works of authors like Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Elizabeth Gaskell. She has authored a book, A Woman’s Work: Vocation in the Fiction of Elizabeth Gaskell, and published articles on meditational verse in Robert Browning’s poetry and themes of motherhood in Victorian novels. Her scholarship bridges literary analysis and feminist criticism, exploring social and religious dimensions of 19th-century texts.

Colby’s contributions have been honored with the Norma Rose Chair of English and Pauline Davis Perry Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Research/Publication. She actively presents at conferences like SAMLA, discussing topics such as identity in Jane Austen’s Emma, Christina Rossetti’s poetry, and narratives by A.S. Byatt.

Her teaching philosophy prioritizes nurturing students’ voices and confidence, from freshman composition to upper-level literature seminars. While no specific advisees or grants are listed, her role as a mentor and department leader underscores her dedication to student success. She is committed to advancing Meredith’s educational mission through her dual focus on pedagogy and literary scholarship.