Southern English alum Xhenet Aliu reads from her 2018 novel "Brass"
Remembering Mike Shea
The Southern Connecticut State University community is mourning Mike Shea, professor of English, who died on Oct. 24 from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run incident earlier this month.
Celebration of Life
The English Department will host a celebration of Mike Shea’s remarkable life on November 15, 2026, from 1-3 p.m. in the Adanti Student Center Ballroom. The event is open to all who knew and cared for him.
Honor the Legacy of Professor Mike Shea
For more than 40 years, Mike Shea inspired Southern students through his teaching, humor, generosity, and love of learning and the arts. Gifts to the Let’s See a Play: Mike Shea Student Performance Fund will help future students experience the performing arts that brought Mike so much joy.
Welcome to Inside English at Southern. This page is for those who want to know more about what’s going on in the English Department, our faculty, and how to get involved as a major, minor, or graduate student.
See the menu links for important information on how to tailor and specialize your degree in areas like literary history, professional writing, creative writing, Secondary Education, or African-American literature, or visit our main Southern page for an overview of the catalog and program requirements. You can also learn about internship and study abroad opportunities and find important tools for your English classes, like our English@SCSU Writing Resources.
Want to get in touch? See the English Department contact list below for questions about declaring the major or minor, graduate studies, first-year composition, advising, and more. Or, stay up to date by following us on Facebook or Twitter.
Southern Connecticut State University
English Department
Engleman Hall, D265A
501 Crescent Street
New Haven, CT 06515
phone: (203) 392-6710
fax: (203) 392-6731
| Position | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Department Chairperson | Cynthia Stretch | (203) 392-6998 |
| Assistant Department Chairperson | Robert McEachern | (203) 392-5526 |
| Graduate Coordinator | Paul Petrie | (203) 392-5024 |
| Composition | Brian Johnson | (203) 392-7049 |
| Secondary Education | Melissa Talhelm | (203) 392-6895 |
| Professional Writing | Robert McEachern | (203) 392-5526 |
| MFA Creative Writing | Rachel Furey | (203) 392-7099 |
| Department Secretary | Tanya Smith | (203) 392-6710 |