Rene Rocha received a PhD in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 2006. A leading scholar of racial and ethnic politics in the United States, His research has received prestigious recognition in his field, including awards from the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, the Western Political Science Association, and the Southwestern Political Science Association.

Lindsay Vella is the Departmental Administrator for African American Studies, American Studies, Classics, the Division of Interdisciplinary Programs, Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies, the Magid Center for Writing, and Religious Studies. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa.

Hallie Abelman (she/they) is a Ph.D. student in American Studies at the University of Iowa. Their research revolves around tactile representations of animals and the ways that we perform and move in their presence. Hallie comes to Iowa with a deep commitment to ecological theatre and the ways it can be used to de-legitimize renderings of animals that perpetuate racist or ableist practices and ideologies. They hold bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Community Health from Tufts University (2014), an MFA in “illness arts” from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (NL), and a Performance Studies MA from NYU Tisch. Before moving to Iowa, Hallie worked as the studio manager for the Dutch artist Melanie Bonajo and the graduate research assistant to the ecological-theatre scholar Una Chaudhuri. Hallie was proud to become a founding member of the North American Association for Critical Animal Studies in 2019.

Bluford Adams is an associate professor in the Departments of American Studies and English.

Uche Anomnachi is a PhD student in American Studies. His current work centers on race making in American visual culture, Black spectatorship, and post-modern Blackness. He is also a fellow with Iowa City's Center for Afrofuturist Studies.

Susan Birrell is a Professor in the Department of American Studies and the Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies. She has a B.A. in English from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, which was the first graduate program in sport studies in the U.S. She joined the American Studies faculty after many years in the UI Department of Health and Sport Studies.

David is the IT Support Consultant for African American Studies, American Studies, Classics, and Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies.

Laurel is an adjunct faculty member in American Studies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She received her B.A. in English from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and her M.A. in English Literature from the University of Colorado - Boulder. Her research interests include popular American cinema, popular culture, and gender and women’s studies.

Laura is a PhD student in American Studies. She received her B.A. in history and political science at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota and her M.A. in History: Public History at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research dabbles in the fields of public history, digital humanities, labor history, Indigenous studies, and memory studies with specific interests in studying the relationship between history and memory, hoboing culture, Indigenous placemaking, digital archiving, and oral history. Currently, she is developing a digital archive called Hobo Archive in partnership with the hoboing community of the upper Midwest.

Learn more about Glenn Houlihan, a PhD student in American Studies and a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Iowa.

Laura Kerr is the Administrative Service Coordinator for African American Studies, American Studies, and Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies. Serving as a public facing liaison, she supports students, faculty, staff, and the public, assists with course scheduling, purchases, department websites, and creating promotional materials.  

Peter is a doctoral candidate in the Department of American Studies.

Learn more about Janeanne Levenstein, a doctoral student in the Sports Studies subtrack of American Studies at the University of Iowa.

Learn more about Ashley Loup, a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Iowa.

Kim Marra is a theatre historian who specializes in U.S. theatre and performance mainly in New York City at the turn into the twentieth century. From 2008 to 2011, she served as chair of the Department of American Studies. Her book Strange Duets: Impresarios and Actresses in American Theatre, 1865-1914 (U of Iowa Press) won the 2008 Joe A. Callaway Prize awarded biennially for the best book on theatre and drama by the NYU Department of English.

Mandy McAllister is the University Shared Services staff member for African American Studies, American Studies, Classics, English, Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies, Philosophy, Rhetoric, Social Work, and the Writers' Workshop.

Kevin McGlynn is the Senior Accountant for the School of Art and Art History, African American Studies, American Studies, Classics, and Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies.

Tom Oates holds degrees in American Studies and Mass Communication and holds a joint appointment with the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. His interdisciplinary scholarship has appeared in journals spanning communication, sport studies, and cultural studies. He is the author of Football and Manliness and the co-editor of The NFL: Critical and Cultural Perspectives, and Playing to Win: Sports, Video Games, and the Culture of Play.

Catriona (Tina) Parratt, Associate Professor Emeritus of American Studies at the University of Iowa, is a third generation migrant from the Isle of Skye and first generation migrant to Iowa City. Her research and teaching interests are in the history of sport and leisure.

Horace Porter is emeritus F. Wendell Miller Professor of English & American Studies.

Lauren Rabinovitz, Professor Emeritus, American Studies and Cinema, received her Ph.D. in American Civilization from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include American cinema, amusement parks and world's fairs, as well as foodways.

John Raeburn is Professor Emeritus of American Studies and English at the University of Iowa. His research interests include: American twentieth-century cultural history; American photography; American film; the 1930s; American literature after 1865; and history of the book.

Laura Rigal is associate professor emeritus of American Studies and English. Her research interests include American literature and culture, 1750-1900.

Ali Romano-McClain is an HR Generalist for African American Studies, American Studies, Classics, Creative Writing (Writers' Workshop), History, Religious Studies, Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies, Division of Interdisciplinary Programs, and Magid Center for Writing.

Jennifer Sterling is an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa.

Learn more about John Tappen, a PhD student in American Studies who works as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Iowa.

Eric Vázquez is an assistant professor in American Studies and Latino Studies at University of Iowa.

Travis Vogan studies sport, media, and U.S. culture, focusing on film, TV, media industries, documentary, and ideas of high vs. low culture in these areas.