Rosa A. Eberly

Rosa A. Eberly is an Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and English at Pennsylvania State University, and Director of the Intercollege Minor in Civic and Community Engagement. Her roles include teaching courses on rhetoric, public memory, and civic engagement, with a focus on violence in public education and the intersection of rhetoric with issues like identity, sound, and deliberation. She has authored influential works such as Towers of Rhetoric: Memory and Reinvention and Citizen Critics: Literary Public Spheres, and co-edited volumes including A Laboratory for Public Scholarship and Democracy. Her research emphasizes protopublic spaces in classrooms and the role of higher education in fostering democratic citizenship.

Her work spans interdisciplinary scholarship, including curating the archive of Harry Shearer’s Le Show for the Library of Congress, and leading discussions on public violence, gun control, and institutional accountability. Eberly’s teaching includes innovative approaches to Constitution Day and public memory projects, such as her UT Tower and Public Memory course. She has engaged with controversies at Penn State, including critiques of corporate influence in academia and responses to institutional failures like the Sandusky scandal.

Her research interests are deeply tied to educational equity, pedagogical innovation, and the ethical responsibility of scholars to address public issues. Eberly’s advising includes notable students like Dave Tell, and she has contributed to debates on free speech, civic disempowerment, and the role of universities in societal progress.