Assistant Professor, Department of English and Comparative Literature“SJSU is my alma mater,” Baer explains. “I am here to do for others what so many did for me.”
Discovering a community within San José State that fostered intellect and natural curiosity, Baer internalized the core principles of personal discovery and public service that she learned during her time as a student and became determined to pass them to the next generation. Now, she brings her extensive knowledge on Renaissance literature to new students, utilizing the philosophies and mechanisms of Renaissance writers and applying them in the classroom to better serve the campus community. She currently is working to establish the Stretch English program for first year writing and eagerly accepts the challenges such a program brings.
“It is an opportunity to study how we as writing teachers can foster writing for our diverse student body and faculty, bringing forward the best of the past to meet current challenges and maximize current opportunities to make positive change on our campus and in our world.”
Adhering to an idea set forward by John Webster, a professor at the University of Washington, that a really top-notch education teaches a person to ask better questions rather than providing answers, Baer seeks to find these questions in both her scholarly and personal life. In the classroom, she enjoys the process of active inquiry, which leads both student and professor to discover new information. Even outside of the classroom, she participates in active discussions about books, reading, and writing with her daughter, a recent CSU Chico graduate, over Sunday breakfast. She relishes the opportunity to pass on these philosophies as she embraces new challenges as an assistant professor in the fall.
