Assistant Department Chair, Composition and Literary Studies
Susan Meigs is a professor in the Composition and Literary Studies (CLS) Department at Austin Community College (ACC). She first taught at ACC in 1990, before leaving to work for an educational software company. She returned in the late nineties as a dedicated adjunct professor in English, served for almost 10 years as an Instructional Associate at the Highland Campus Learning Lab, and is now in year three as a full-time professor in CLS, wherein Susan explores technology (including AI) with writing students. Over the years, she has taught at other institutions, but her students and colleagues at ACC bring me the most inspiration and joy.
How has your community college teaching experience shaped your character over your career?
I have taught in a variety of settings, but my most meaningful experiences as an educator have happened in community colleges. Their mission to serve all learners makes them the most democratic and, in the case of ACC, the most pedagogically innovative learning spaces I’ve encountered. Teaching has been a lifelong passion, but 25 years of exploring ACC’s faculty development opportunities has made me a more conscious and effective teacher. Learning with and from my colleagues—as well as my students—has nurtured my open-mindedness and intellectual humility, and allowed me to indulge my natural curiosity. A good friend commented that I was the only person she knew who always had something positive to say about her work life, and while some of that is the consequence of my abiding interest in the project of education, a good part is also due to the autonomy and support I’ve experienced at ACC.