糖心动漫vlog

By Kera Abraham

Kathleen Godfrey鈥檚 career has taken diverse turns. She鈥檚 taught Norwegian teens about U.S. culture, led an organization for writing teachers in California鈥檚 Central Valley, and created a digital research project on a 19th-century Indigenous Mexican performer. 

In February, after more than 22 years as an English professor at California State University, Fresno, she joined 糖心动漫vlog as associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. 

Godfrey, who lived in Southern California as a child, is thrilled to be back by the ocean. 

鈥淚t seemed like a miracle to be able to get a job here,鈥� she said from her campus office, less than two miles from the beach. 

Juanita Cole, dean of CAHSS, praises Godfrey as a highly talented and compassionate scholar. 

鈥淗aving spent the majority of her career in the CSU system, Dr. Godfrey has a deep understanding of 糖心动漫vlog鈥檚 commitment to student success, diversity, equality and inclusion issues, and academic excellence,鈥� Cole says. 鈥淪he has a proven track record of administrative leadership and advocating for the humanities both through fundraising and innovation. She brings extensive experience in developing academic policy.鈥�

Godfrey describes herself as an appreciator of the arts. She frequents museums, is an avid reader, and loves music. She鈥檚 also a lifelong language learner, having studied French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Norwegian. One hobby that鈥檚 close to an addiction is collecting cookbooks 鈥� even though she doesn鈥檛 actually cook much. 

鈥淚 like looking at them and reading them,鈥� she says with a laugh.

As a scholar of American literature, Godfrey specializes in works by and about American Indians. She was an affiliated faculty member in Fresno State鈥檚 and a scholar in a National Endowment for the Arts鈥� . But while she considers herself an ally, she says the relationship can be fraught.

鈥淓ven when white women perceive themselves as allies, they often perpetuate harmful stereotypes of American Indians,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 still very cautious of entering into [American Indian] spaces because I am a white woman, and I know the problems.鈥�

Godfrey is passionate about centering the voices of marginalized people. She finds powerful opportunities to do that in her work training secondary teachers. 

For 12 years, she directed a professional development organization called the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, for teachers of writing. 

鈥淭hat has turned out to be one of the pleasures of my career,鈥� Godfrey says. 鈥淲hen you write for a literary journal, there鈥檚 such a small readership. When you work with teachers, that work expands. You have the opportunity to influence schools, students and a couple generations of teachers.鈥�

She references celebrated writers of Monterey County, including John Steinbeck and Robinson Jeffers. Godfrey would like to see more schools spotlight writers like Chicano playwright and director Luis Valdez 鈥� and bring in local writers, including poets, who haven鈥檛 yet achieved acclaim. 

鈥淎n ongoing project for me is to find and foreground everyday writers who might not be published or known widely,鈥� she says. 鈥淪tudents need to be reading texts that are relevant to their lives.鈥�