Celebrating Doctor of Letters students on the path from dissertation to publication
April 2025 – Drew University’s Caspersen School of Graduate Studies recently held its Spring Virtual Arts & Letters Salon, an annual celebration highlighting Doctor of Letters (DLitt) students who have successfully defended their dissertations during the academic year.
This year’s theme, From Writing to Dissertation to Publication in a Variety of Genres, featured a panel of distinguished DLitt students and recent alums—Michelle Flanagan, Tijana Hitchon, Joan McCarty, Julie Salthouse, Richard Wasserman, and Kate Zimmerbaum—all of whom are currently in the process of publishing their dissertations.
“It’s a major accomplishment in many ways, as it represents both the completion of your goal and the launching pad for future ones,” said Leslie Sprout, director of the Arts & Letters Program.
The event was moderated by affiliate professors Liana Piehler and Laura Winters. “This is a celebration of accomplishment and a chance to share insights about the process,” said Piehler.
Salthouse, whose dissertation, A Walk Through the Quiet Streets at Midnight: Gender, Race and the New Woman in the Short Stories of Kate Chopin, reflected on her writing journey. “Discover what is your unfinished business, where your energy lies, and what sparks your curiosity,” she said. “That will fuel you.”
Salthouse is currently adapting her dissertation for publication, a process that involves reshaping her work. “Moving from dissertation to an academic press means compression in some areas and expansion in others—it becomes a new and growing piece,” noted Piehler.
“Your work is never really ‘done,’” Salthouse added. “There’s always more to explore in scholarly work. I’d encourage writers to think in terms of what’s ‘enough.’”
“Don’t be afraid to reshape your work,” Winters advised. “It always belongs to you in the end.”
McCarty shared the personal challenges she faced writing her dissertation, Daughter of a Different Sun: Finding Panther—Finding Home, which examined the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North between the 1960s and 1970s. She spoke candidly about self-doubt and credits her committee for their support. “I wouldn’t have made it without them,” she said. “Affirm yourself—don’t feel it’s unattainable.”
Reflecting on her own experience, Zimmerbaum recalled the difficulty and the reward of completing her dissertation, In Extremis: An Aesthetics of Excess in Fiction of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. “I remember the pain, but it’s so worth it,” she said. Now under contract with a publisher, she encouraged others to find publishers aligned with their expertise. “You need to demonstrate there’s an audience and that the project is timely,” she advised.
Flanagan successfully defended her creative dissertation, The Edge of Equinox, the first in a trilogy rooted in Celtic mythology. “I only have amazing kudos for this program,” she said. “It’s helped me grow personally and academically. It’s been a fantastic experience.”
Hitchon recited several poems from her creative dissertation, ‘Rough Draft’ Preservation of the American Landscape: Reflections on Seasons in the Works of Charles Burchfield, Andrew Wyeth, and Robert Frost.
Richard Wasserman, a retired Army officer, discussed his dissertation, New Jersey’s Role in World War I and its Memorialization at the Local Level, and his journey toward publication.
“There is space in this program for imagination in the coursework, in the dissertation process, and beyond,” said Winters in closing.
The presentations were followed by a Q&A and open discussion, offering students, faculty, alums, and prospective students the opportunity to reflect on the dissertation process and various publication paths.
Drew’s Arts & Letters is an interdisciplinary graduate liberal studies program offering courses in seven concentrations that build on Drew’s strengths in the humanities, the creative/performing arts, religious studies, and teacher education. Through small seminar-style classes that meet in person, online, and in hybrid formats, the program enables students to customize each course of study to meet their individual goals.
The event was made possible by the generous support of Werner Kofler T’03, G’05. The Werner Kofler Arts & Letters Endowment was endowed in 2011 to provide a Doctor of Letters discussion group for the Arts & Letters program in the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies.
