Alumni Spotlight: Jacqueline Bach

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Jacqueline Bach says her time at Oklahoma State University was challenging and rewarding. A former high school English teacher, Bach earned a Ph.D. in Education at Oklahoma State University in 2006.

Today, Bach is an endowed professor in English Education and Curriculum Theory at Louisiana State University and current director of the Women and Gender Studies program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She also serves as the acting associate dean of assessment and accountability in the College of Human Sciences and Education.

Bach recently visited the OSU-Tulsa campus as a lectureship speaker for the Curriculum Studies Project, which gave her the opportunity to share her expertise as an educator with students and faculty in OSU’s College of Education.

“Oklahoma State University is a gem. I was given opportunities that prepared me for a career in higher education that rival experiences at other top universities,” Bach said. “I was encouraged to create a plan of study that allowed me to explore my philosophical interests, I received opportunities to teach and conduct research in areas that developed into my current scholarship agenda, I was challenged to engage in the community, and I developed a close relationship with a group of colleagues with whom I still remain in contact.”

Bach credits much of her success to the opportunities she had while at OSU.

“My trajectory goes back to my experiences at Oklahoma State where I worked with the English department and the College of Education and learned the importance of building relationships across campus,” Bach said.

These experiences led her to write her first publication on school films and television shows while at OSU. Over a decade later she is continuing to write about this topic and just published her first book, “Reel Education: Documentaries, Biopics, and Reality Televsion”, which evolved from that first publication.

Bach is grateful for the assistance she received from faculty and for the access to everything she needed in order to achieve her Ph.D.

“OSU faculty were so generous with their time and mentorship,” Bach said. “They treated students with respect, and I can’t tell you how much I miss Willard (Hall’s) library and technology center.”

Before earning her Ph.D. at OSU, Bach received her Bachelor’s Degree in English from Florida State University in 1995 and her Master’s Degree in English from the University of West Florida in 2000.