A photo of Provost Ed Huffstetler in front of a tree

Huffstetler, Edward W.

Title: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Department: President's Cabinet, Provost's Office, University Assessment

Phone: 304-384-5243

Room: Marsh Hall 240

Box: F4

Huffstetler, Edward W.

Biography

Dr. Edward W. Huffstetler, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, earned his Ph.D. as well as his Masters in English and American Literature at the University of Iowa and his B.A. in English and Drama at Coker University.

He served as a Professor of English, and later as an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, at Bridgewater College in Virginia and has more recently served as Dean for the School of Arts and Sciences at Upper Iowa University. Dr. Huffstetler’s scholarship has centered around 19-century American Literature, especially the poetry of Walt Whitman, as well as American Indian Studies, primarily focusing on fiction and poetry written by contemporary American Indian authors. Dr. Huffstetler also writes fiction himself, having published several short stories and a novel titled Künstler and the Terrible Monster. Dr. Huffstetler is a native of South Carolina. He and his wife, Dr. Catherine Elick, have three adult children.

Education

Ph.D. — University of Iowa, Iowa City (December, 1988)

English and American Literature

Dissertation: “The Voice from the Burning Bush:  Spiritual Faith and the Religion of American Primitivism.”  Director: Robert F. Sayre
M.A. — University of Iowa, Iowa City (December, 1986, en passant)

English and American Literature
B.A. — Coker University, Hartsville, SC (May, 1981)

Double Major in English and Drama

Administrative Achievements

  • Over twelve years’ experience writing higher education accreditation reports for a variety of reviews for two separate regional accreditors.
  • Six years’ experience as a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Colleges (SACS/COC) accreditation peer reviewer.
  • Seven years’ experience as a Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation peer reviewer.
  • Over fifteen years’ experience in curriculum and program development, including general education programming.
  • Led several committees charged with rewriting academic policies and Faculty Handbooks.
  • Worked with many consultants over the past seven years on a variety of topics ranging from curriculum and program development, grant writing and grant oversight, data collection and analysis, and program review processes.
  • Led many workshops and training sessions on a variety of topics relevant to higher education, including assessment, accreditation, the principles of shared governance, and higher education leadership development.

Select Publications

  • Introduction to Endlessly Rocking: Poems in Honor of Walt Whitman’s 200th New York: Unbound Content Press, 2019. Print.
  • Tales of Native America. Myths of the World Series. New York: Michael Friedman, 1996. Print.
  • “Spirit Armies and Ghost Dancers: The Dialogic Nature of American Indian Resistance.”  Studies in American Indian Literatures 14.4 (Winter 2002): 1-17.
  • “Mark Twain’s Unique Brand of Cultural Relativism.” Dutch Quarterly Review of Anglo American Letters. 18 (1988): 32-45.
  • “Balancing on the Deck of the Pequod” Showcase. Shenandoah Valley Writer’s Guild. Fall 1991.
  • Künstler and the Terrible Monster. Washington, DC: James A. Rock, 2007.
  • The Power of the Press.” In Good Company, vol. II. Fairfax, VA: Live Wire Press, 2000.
  • “Moving with Ease Through the Bright, Blue Water.” In Good Company, vol I. Fairfax, VA: Live Wire Press, 1999.“The Best Seat in the House.” Iowa Journal of Literary Studies. Iowa City, IA: Univ. of Iowa Press, 1986.