Education: Ph.D., M.A., The Ohio State University, B.A., The University of Dayton
Dr. Beutel has taught at Lourdes University for nearly two decades. She currently holds positions as Interim Provost, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Accreditation Liaison Officer, and Professor of English. During the 2022-2023 academic year, she completed a term as Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs and has previously served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Katherine P. Beutel, Ph.D., is a dedicated academic leader and scholar with a rich background in higher education. She oversees a wide range of responsibilities including accreditation processes, academic program development, and budget management. With a Ph.D. in English from The Ohio State University, her scholarship focuses on contemporary American literature. Dr. Beutel’s extensive administrative experience includes roles as Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Chair of the English Department, where she spearheaded strategic initiatives and curriculum enhancements.
In addition to her administrative achievements, Dr. Beutel is a seasoned educator, teaching a variety of courses in English literature, writing, and interdisciplinary studies at Lourdes University. Her commitment to scholarly inquiry is evident through numerous presentations at conferences such as the Midwest Modern Language Association and publications exploring themes in American and multi-ethnic literature. Beyond academia, she actively engages in community service and holds leadership roles in local organizations, reflecting her dedication to both education and community enrichment.
“Erdrich’s The Sentence in the Post-Pandemic Classroom.” Presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, Cincinnati, OH., November 4, 2023.
“Transforming Core Curriculum and Assessment while Fostering Cross-Campus Collaboration.” Presented with Sally Thelen and Terry Keller at the Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference, Chicago, IL., April 2022.
“Healing Wounds and Strengthening Communal Ties in the Works of Dorothy Allison and Louise Erdrich.” Presented with Shawna Rushford-Spence at the Northeast Modern Language Association Conference, Baltimore, MD., March 6, 2022.
“’Knit into the Fabric’: Catholicism in the Works of Louise Erdrich.” Presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, Milwaukee, WI., November 4, 2021.
“Not Another Handmaid: Reproduction in Erdrich’s Future Home of the Living God.” Presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, Chicago, IL. November 16, 2019.
“Digital Literacy in the Humanities.” Presented at Lourdes University, Faculty Research and Scholarship presentation, with Shawna Rushford-Spence and Susan Shelangoskie. February 9, 2019.
“Teaching in the Digital Age: Navigating Tradition and Resistance.” presented with Shawna Rushford-Spence at Cultural Rhetorics Conference. Lansing, MI. November, 2018.
“Reported Activism: Analyzing Discourse About Wounded Knee Occupiers and Standing Rock Water Defenders” presented at Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, Cincinnati, OH, November 11, 2017.
Permanent Session on Native American Literature — Chair, 2016 – 2017, Midwest Modern Language Association Conference
“Critical Thinking Skills for Context and Content Analysis: Giving Students Tools for Judgment” presented for Lourdes English Department Fake News Workshop for High School Teachers, April 22, 2017
“Spiritual and Historical Contact Zones in Erdrich’s LaRose,” presented at Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, St. Louis, MO, November 11, 2016
“Damian’s Successors: Religious Figures in Erdrich’s The Plague of Doves and The Round House,” presented at the Multi Ethnic Literatures of the United Stated (MELUS) convention, Charleston, S.C., March 4, 2016.
“Inversions of Justice,” presented at Midwest Modern Language Association Conference, Permanent Session on Native American Literature, Columbus, OH, November 13, 2015.
“Contested Spaces: The Round House,” presented at The Society for the Study of American Women Writers (SSAWW) Triennial Conference, Philadelphia, PA, November 5-9, 2015.
External evaluator for University of Detroit Mercy’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program, November 2015.
“Mapping Context: Disrupting Historical One-Dimensionality with A Raisin in the Sun” presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association conference in Detroit, November 14, 2014, panel with Noah Roderick and Shawna Rushford-Spence.
“Reflecting the University: Change and Disciplinarity,” presentation with Shawna Rushford-Spence, at the College English Association of Ohio conference at the University of Toledo, April 18, 2015.
“Word and word” presented at Lourdes University with Peter Sibilio for the Graduate School’s TGIF lecture series, on April 23, 2015, discussing revision in the work of Louise Erdrich.
External evaluator for University of Detroit Mercy’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies programs, Fall 2013.
“Reading Louise Erdrich’s Fiction” presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for Graduate Liberal Studies Programs, Portland, OR, October 18-20, 2012.
“Textual Indebtedness in Erdrich’s Fiction” presented at the Midwest Modern Language Association’s convention, Cincinnati, OH, November 9-11, 2012.
Certificate in Franciscan Studies, University of St. Francis, 2012
Ehove High School-Higher Education Curriculum Alignment grant project, 2011-13
Columns for Toledo Reads on: Dickens’ Hard Times, February 2012; Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, July 2012; Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, January 2013; Erdrich’s Tracks, July 2013.
“Love and Service in Erdrich’s The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse,” Presented at Mideast Conference on Christianity and Literature, University of Dayton, October 28-29, 2011.
Presentation to Toledo Public Schools Language Arts Faculty on Expectation for College-Level Writing, with Barbara Schneider, University of Toledo— at Start High School, March 2, 2011.
Council of Independent Colleges Workshop on Information Fluency—Participant, New Orleans, March 2010.
“Gothic Repetitions: Toni Morrison’s Changing Use of Echo” presented at Nineteenth Annual Colloquium on Literature and Film, West Virginia University, September 1994. Published in The West Virginia University Philological Papers 42-43 (1997-98): 82-87. Republished in Gothic Literature: A Gale Critical Companion. Vol. 3. Thompson Gale, 2006.
“Flannery O’Connor’s Echoing Voices in The Violent Bear it Away” presented at South Central Modern Language Association meeting, New Orleans, November 1994. Published in The Journal of Contemporary Thought 1994 Special Section on Flannery O’Connor.
“Gothic Vision and Voices in Toni Morrison’s Beloved”
Presented at Women’s Studies Conference, Western Kentucky University, September 1992.
“Learning and Adapting to the Discourse Community: A Case Study of New Engineers” Presented at regional meeting of The Association for Business Communication, Akron, Ohio, April 1991.
“Degrees of Femininity: Some Rhetorical Strategies of Three Women in Authority”
Presented at the annual convention of The Association for Business Communication, San Antonio, Texas, November 1990.
Higher Learning Commission Assurance Review Committee, 2019-present
Chair of the English Department 2010–2017
Director of the Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies Program 2015-2017
Director of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies 2011 – 2015
Program Review Committee 2017 – present
Curriculum and Policy Review (CPR) Committee
Fall 2011-Spring 2017
Fall 2009-Spring 2010
Core Curriculum Revision Task Force, 2010-2012
College Learning Outcomes Revision Task Force—Chair: Integrative Learning, Fall 2009
Programs and Standards Committee, Fall 2012 – Spring 2017, CPR representative
Assessment Committee, 2008-2012, 2014-2017
Chair 2009-2011; co-chair 2016-2017
Institutional Planning and Assessment Committee, 2016-present
Education Assessment Team, 2015-2016
Helped review assessment activities for College of Education; completed alignment crosswalks for NCTE and OBR
Faculty co-chair, Faculty/Staff Campaign 2015
Graduate Steering Committee, January 2011-2015
Graduate Executive Council, January 2011-2015
Co-Advisor to Literati Student Organization, 2010-2012
Community Standards Training session, spring 2013
Foundations of Excellence Organizational Dimension, Fall 2010
Faculty Senate, Fall 2006 – Spring 2009
Secretary 2007 – 2009
Faculty Recognition and Professional Development Committee
Fall 2005 – Spring 2008
Department of English Assessment Coordination 2006-2017
Communication Competence Assessment Task Force, 2007-10
Community Service:
St. John’s Jesuit Mothers’ Circle- secretary 2017-19, president 2019-2020
St. Joseph Parish Pastoral Council 2017- 2022
Saint Joseph School Positive Directions Essay Committee Chair, 2009 – 2017
Central Catholic High School Band Boosters, secretary, 2012-14
Saint Joseph School World Neighbors Committee
Chair 2008-2013
Member 2003 – 2013
Power of the Pen Regional Competition, Master Judge, 2017, 2011-15, 2009, 2006.
ENG 101 Composition I: Essay Writing
ENG 102 Composition II: Research and Writing
ENG 200 Introduction to Literature
ENG 213 Multiethnic U.S. Literature
ENG 215 Sports and Literature
ENG 303 Studies in American Literature I
ENG 304 Studies in American Literature II
ENG 313 Theoretical Approaches to Writing, Reading, and Teaching of Writing
ENG 315 Studies in Non-Western Literature
ENG 352 Professional Writing
ENG 355 Writing for Science and Health Professions
ENG 360 Writing Internship
ENG 390 Approaches to Literary Theory
ENG 401 Studies in Fiction
ENG 403 Studies in Poetry
ENG 411 Single Author Study: Louise Erdrich
IDS 490 Introduction to BAIS Capstone
IDS 491 BAIS Capstone
MLS 640 Interdisciplinary Seminar I
MLS 650 Capstone Proposal Seminar
MLS 698 Capstone Seminar
