Profile

AREA OF FOCUS: African American Literature, feminist studies, Black studies, reproductive justice

Dr. Rovak completed her PhD in Literature at the University of Oregon with a specialization in Politics, Culture, and Identity and Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies before joining the Clark Honors College in 2019. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and reproductive science in African American Literature to consider the ways reproductive justice is always speculative and requires a multifaceted interrogation across disciplinary methods. She focuses primarily on Black women authors, and has a particular interest in the Black feminist writings of the 1970s. As Director of First-Year Experience, Dr. Rovak collaborates with colleagues across campus and within the CHC to serve the incoming cohort of students and provide consistent support during a student’s first year of undergraduate study. She develops advising resources and programming targeted at first-year student success, is Faculty Director for the CHC Academic Residential Community, coordinates the CHC’s Peer Mentor Program, and helps provide weekly updates of advising tips, deadlines, and opportunities for honors college students.In addition to her work in the honors college, Dr. Rovak serves as co-chair of the First-Generation Student Support team, a working group dedicated to helping first-generation students find resources they need and celebrate their community at UO.  

Advising Philosophy: I believe that the work of academic advising is the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am dedicated to helping students learn about resources and opportunities available to them, learn to self-advocate, and learn to follow their own unique academic journey. 

Academic Background: 

• Ph.D., English, University of Oregon, 2019 
• M.A., English, University of Colorado - Boulder, 2014 
• B.A., English and Anthropology, University of Colorado - Boulder, 2010

Sample Courses:

• HC 421H: Laboratories of the Everyday: Science in Black Literature
• ENG 104: Introduction to Fiction – Narratives of Black Girlhood
• WGS 361: Gender in Film and Media– Shondaland and Beyond
• WGS 352: Gender and Literature – Race and Reproduction
• WR 122: College Composition II – The American Dream

Selected Publications:

• "Speculative Black Maternity: Fran Ross’s Oreo and Ntozake Shange’s Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 38, no. 2, Fall 2019, pp. 381-405.

Awards: 

• 2020, 2021, 2022: Finalist, University of Oregon Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award 
• 2019: Finalist, ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award in Humanities/Fine Arts 
• 2019: Excellence in Composition Teaching Award 
• 2019: Finalist, Equity and Inclusion in the Composition Classroom Award