When I first contacted Dr. Janet Ericksen, she was just finishing up leading a study abroad program to England, entitled “Life in a Medieval City: Literature and Culture in York, 700-1500.” The program is

Janet Ericksen speaks at a podium at the University of Minnesota Morris
close to her heart-- learning Old English and visiting medieval sites while studying at the University of Hull in Yorkshire during her junior year as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas was one of the things that inspired her to pursue a doctorate in medieval British literature.

After earning her PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ericksen first worked at a private research university, at which, she said, there was a perception that junior faculty were to be “seen but not heard” in campus governance. So, when she became a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota Morris in 1998, Ericksen was happy to discover that participation in campus governance was not only encouraged, but expected. She has been involved in University Senate governance for many years, serving first on the Senate Committee for Faculty Affairs (SCFA) from 2003-2007. Subsequently, she served on the Faculty Senate from 2005-2008, the Senate Committee on Committees from 2008-2011, and she recently finished her second term as a member of the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC). She has also been involved in the Morris Campus Assembly for many years, currently chairing its Curriculum Committee. In this way, she acts as a valuable liaison between campuses and committees, and takes pride in educating the broader University community about the Morris campus and advocating for Morris’ interests and system campuses in general. 

Being involved in campus governance, Ericksen believes, is more useful on a practical and personal level than many people realize. Therefore, she said, senior faculty should encourage junior faculty to get involved. She gave the example of when she was tasked with overseeing a revision of the promotion and tenure document while serving as division chair for the Humanities: “Because I had been on the Faculty Affairs committee,” she said, “I knew what needed to be done and already had a working relationship with the vice provost.” 

When it comes to free time, Ericksen spends much of it outdoors-- she enjoys swimming, biking to work, and sailing. She is known among her colleagues for frequently wearing skirts, and has even climbed a mountain in Iceland in a dress. As a medievalist, Ericksen has studied and can read several early European languages, including Latin, Old Norse, and Old English. The hardest language she’s ever tried to learn, she revealed, is Old Irish. 

Janet Schrunk Ericksen is an associate professor in the English department at the University of Minnesota Morris, and is currently serving as interim vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and dean. She is a past recipient of the Alumni Association Teaching Award and the Horace T. Morse-Minnesota Alumni Association Award.

--Amber Bathke

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