Rate My Professor Mary Lou Odom

Mary Lou Odom is a Professor of English at Kennesaw State University, serving as Director of the Writing Center and Director of the ESL Center. Her career at the university began in 2004 when she was hired as a professor of English and assistant director of the writing center. With more than 20 years of experience as a teacher, researcher, and administrator, Dr. Odom has emphasized writing as a practice that empowers students to inquire, connect, and contribute meaningfully in academic, professional, and civic communities. She earned her PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with concentrations in curriculum and instruction and literacy studies. Her research focuses on Composition and Rhetoric, exploring connections between writing and reading practices, writing across the curriculum, and writing center scholarship.

Dr. Odom's scholarship has appeared in venues such as Across the Disciplines, WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, and numerous edited collections. Key publications include “Not Just for Writing Anymore: What WAC Can Teach Us About Reading to Learn,” a study of writing across the curriculum faculty that highlights the relationship between college students’ writing and reading practices, and “Don’t Call It That: The Composition Practicum,” which has become a frequently cited resource in conversations about graduate teacher preparation. She is also a co-author of Composition Open Materials Promoting Student Success (COMPSS), an open educational resource published in 2022 that provides free course materials including readings, videos, discussion prompts, group activities, and assignment guidelines for composition courses. Through her leadership in the Writing Center and ESL Center, Dr. Odom supports student success in writing across disciplines and has contributed to professional development in rhetoric and composition.