Dr. Michelle Payne earned a Ph.D. in English, Composition and Literature, from the University of New Hampshire in 1997. She has an M.A. in Composition and Rhetoric from Florida State University, and a B.A. in English Literature, with a minor in Creative Writing, from Miami University in Ohio. Dr. Payne has been teaching in the Department of Writing Studies at Boise State University since earning her doctorate. She has served as Director of the Writing Center, and now serves as Department Chair. She teaches nonfiction writing, first-year composition, theories of rhetoric and composition, feminist literary theory, and research methods in composition and rhetoric. Her dissertation focused on students writing about the body, and the professional and ethical concerns for teachers and students when students write about these issues within a college or university setting, and her current research explores the literacies of faith-centered students in the writing classroom.